An emu that escaped from home led police on one wild “emu chase” through the town of Harriman, Tennessee. Meemu the Emu jumped his enclosure’s 7-foot-tall fence after getting spooked by the sounds of a nearby logging crew, says his owner Harry McKinney.
He tried to get a hold of Meemu after the bird escaped but Meemu made a speedy getaway. McKinney put out an alert on social media that MeeMoo was on the loose and he soon got a slew of messages.
“Immediately we were flooded with private messages with, you know, ‘Hey, your emu is in my backyard,’ and then we got all of these videos,” McKinney told local news outlet WATE.
Police soon got involved and tried to corral Meemu with multiple police cruisers, video of which has since gone viral.
But Meemu managed to expertly avoid the police because not only did the emu run very fast – clocking 40 miles per hour during the chase – but he also ran for a very long way – 20 miles at least.
This prompted Sara C. Haun to comment on Facebook’s Knox – 24 Hour Arrest Report that Meemu’s pursuit was, “Probably the longest police chase Harriman has ever had. It went for 20 miles!!!
McKinney said that Meemu passed all the community’s hotspots and practically every neighborhood because he says everyone “got their own private video” of the police chase.
As funny as it was, McKinney was concerned for Meemoo’s safety.
“We were terrified that he would get hit by a car and somebody would hit him with a tranquilizer dart, that he would hurt himself in the chase,” McKinney said. He kept track of MeeMoo’s location by listening to police dispatch radio.
Fortunately, McKinney was eventually able to wrangle MeeMoo in the backyard of a home in Roane County. Photos of a relieved and happy McKinney and Meemoo were shared on Facebook.
McKinney said that he’s very thankful for the care and concern the police and community showed in the escapade. He also added he’s planning to add 2 feet to Meemoo’s fence.
Here’s raw footage of the chase on video:
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