(Riverton, WY) – “Thank you Fremont Motors for helping our officers take a Sssssssssuspected trespasser into custody. The Sssssssssuspect was refusing to cooperate but was ultimately apprehended.”
If the above August 31 Facebook post from the Riverton Police Department left you wanting the whole, sssslippery story, you weren’t the only one.
County 10 caught up with Riverton Police Department Chief Eric Hurtado today, who shared all the details on the bull snake that slithered its way into the undercarriage of a Riverton resident’s vehicle while she was in line at a bank’s drive-thru in the area of North Federal Blvd and Webbwood Road around 2:15 PM yesterday.
Bull snakes are non-venomous but bear a resemblance to rattlesnakes, especially when seen at a quick glance or to the untrained eye. Adult Wyoming bull snakes average about 4 to 5 feet in length, but they can grow up to 8 feet.
After receiving the call for service, officers and animal control soon arrived and, upon inspecting the vehicle, saw a piece of the snake’s body through a small hole in the car’s metal body.
“We tried several times to reach the snake to remove it, but we couldn’t reach it,” Chief Hurtado recounted.
He explained that employees from the nearby Fremont Motors soon assisted by bringing a floor jack to try to raise the car enough for officers to untangle the snake.
“After a while, it was apparent that the snake was not wanting to let go of the car, and the narrow opening did not provide enough access for the officers to grab the 3-foot bull snake,” Chief Hurtado added. “We ended up at the Fremont Motors dealership, where they placed the woman’s car on a car lift.”
Chief Hurtado said that after trying to gently remove the snake from that small opening, they were ultimately able to reach in and grab it by its head as it peered out of a hole in the car’s frame.
The snake was then placed in a plastic container before animal control officers “relocated the stubborn snake.”
“Bull snakes are usually easy to relocate,” Chief Hurtado added, noting that this isn’t his first serpentine rodeo after having worked in the Mojave Desert, where he dealt with much more formidable slithery foes.
“I used to work in an area in the Mojave Desert where, this time of year, we would respond to dozens of rattlesnake calls each season,” Chief Hurtado explained. “They were more of a nuisance. We would have to grab venomous Mojave green rattlesnakes from under beds and behind refrigerators that had entered people’s homes who left doors open.”
Chief Hurtado did not share whether the snake was issued a hiss-demeanor for its actions. The snake was not immediately available for comment.