Ape sightings frighten small town

GLEN ST. MARY, Fla. -- Mysterious ape sightings are bringing excitement to a sleepy Florida town.

Residents have been hearing screeches in the night and stories of sightings echo on every corner.

The local newspaper even ran a story about the sightings.

"There is kind of that 'I've seen a bigfoot' type of feel to it," said resident Eric Lawson. "They said it made a nest in that tree, so it's probably somewhere here in the area."

Some believe the mysterious animal is an orangutan -- one local family had found what looked to be an orange ape up high in a tree.



The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigator who answered the original complaint call on the orange ape said there was definitely something up in the top of the tree, but he really couldn't be sure what it was.

He said he took a pack of jelly donuts and left it at the bottom of the tree, hoping to lure the creature to the ground.

He said he hasn't heard anything since.

"The next morning, the people came out and it was, it was gone," Lawson said.

If the mysterious animal was an ape, where did it come from? State officials said no one in Baker County is licensed to own an orangutan.


Where indeed?