Mississippi Homeowner Finds Escaped Research Monkey Amid Multi-Agency Search

A truck carrying 21 rhesus macaque monkeys overturned on Interstate 59 in Jasper County, Mississippi, on October 28, 2025, leading to the escape of several monkeys. Initially, authorities believed all escaped monkeys except one had been accounted for or destroyed, but it was later clarified that three monkeys remained at large. On November 2, 2025, a homeowner near Heidelberg found one of the escaped monkeys on their property, and it was safely captured by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks. The monkeys were being transported from Louisiana to a biomedical testing facility in Florida and were confirmed to be free of pathogens, contradicting initial claims by the truck driver that they carried infectious diseases. Despite the capture, two monkeys are still missing, and bait and traps have been set to locate them. Authorities continue to urge the public to report sightings to the Jasper County Sheriff's Office.