Minnesota town rallying to capture fugitive emu Dork

Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Residents of a Minnesota town are coming together over a common cause: Bringing home a missing emu named Dork.

Becker Police Chief Brent Baloun said Dork escaped from the pen in his owner's back yard when a falling tree branch damaged the barrier in April.

The 6-foot, 120-pound bird has since been sighted all over town.

"[We get] missing cats, missing dogs," Baloun told KARE-TV. "But we've never had something like this."

Dork has captured the attention of neighbors, who have been reporting sightings and posting photos of the loose bird on a local Facebook group.

"It's just taken on a life of its own," Baloun said.

Renee Hildebrandt is one of the Facebook page's 1,000 followers.

"It's kind of fun--just something to watch," Hildebrantdt said. "People are going nuts over it."

A Thursday post on the Facebook page shows residents attempting to approach Dork. The post says the emu was too fast for his pursuers.

"Well after about 2 hours chasing Dork he eluded us all..... I forgot the guy's name, but he got the rope on Dork but Dork pulled out of it. Dork was not interested in the dog food," the post said.

The police chief said officers likely wouldn't be much help.

"I know it would be a challenge to chase it around," he said. "It would be kind of like the keystone cops, I hate to say it."

Baloun said he has been impressed with the efforts to capture Dork.

"It's kind of neat to see the community rally around to try to find him," Baloun said.