Emu escapes in Kingstree.
Kingstree residents were on the lookout for a runaway emu this week. Two weeks ago, Richard the Emu escaped his enclosure at This N That Farm in Kingstree. After calling for him, walking the woods and driving around town all week, owner Stella Ross thought he was either dead or long gone. Emus can run up to 31 miles an hour, after all. An unexpected call came early Sunday morning, April 28. The emu was walking down the sidewalk in front of the National Guard on Eastland Avenue. By the time family was able to reach the location, Richard was gone.
After several failed attempts to find the emu, The News asked for help from the community via Facebook. There were the expected comical comments, but there were also posts about emu sightings, and phone calls started coming in. Richard was seen at a graveyard on Hemingway Highway, at the old Pepsi plant, at the laundry mat, and he roamed through a few neighborhoods. One woman was surprised to see an emu staring at her when she closed the hood of her car.
Richard the Emu is back on the farm. Photo by Stella Ross.
The Williamsburg County Sheriff’s Department got a call on Monday, April 29. The emu was reportedly chasing someone. When Sergeant Markita McFadden and Deputy Antonio Graham arrived, they found Richard at the corner of Epps Road and Eastland Avenue, behind a vacant home. Ross was able to quickly bring a cage and with help from the Williamsburg Sheriff’s deputies the emu was loaded into a cage, into Ross’ car, and taken back to the farm.
“We are glad he is safe and back home,” says Ross. “We are thankful to the Sheriff’s Office for their help. They went above and beyond. Hopefully, we won’t have to go through that again.”
