Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Residents of a Maryland community kicked off the new year with an unexpected special guest: an escaped emu. Maryland State Police confirmed the emu escaped from its owner's property on New Year's Day and has since been seen wandering the town of Mardela Springs. Advertisement Wicomico County Animal Control investigators are working together with the Australian bird's owner to try to locate and capture the emu. Patti LeConte said she and her husband encountered the emu while driving home from Ocean City on Wednesday morning. "That must have been a hell of a New Year's Eve on the farm this year," she told The Baltimore Banner. The emu was confirmed to be a different bird than the one seen wandering through the area in October. That emu, Liberty, was captured and returned home with help from neighbors and Delaware Natural Resources Police. Witnesses who spot the loose emu are being urged to keep a safe distance and report sightings to Wicomico County Animal Control. Read More Newborn right whale calves make rare visit to Florida coast Montana man unofficially breaks world record for kettleball swings Iowa woman wins $250,000 from Christmas gift lottery ticket