Helicopter used to track down runaway unicorn

A white pony dressed as a unicorn eluded the California Highway Patrol on Wednesday night, darting through a busy commute for several hours. CHP spokesperson Officer Joshua McConnell said the pony first ran from a children's birthday party in Madera at around 2:30pm and was recaptured shortly after. "Then it escaped again from another child at about 5:30 pm and ran out on to the roadways.



"It was seen in traffic before it was finally located in an orchard by the CHP H40 helicopter, using the heat seeking FLIR radar," McConnell said. A nearby resident with another horse on her property helped officers approach and finally capture the frisky pony. Some motorists were surprised and were hesitant to report the pony with a horn in the road as a unicorn, but others were quite sure they had actually seen one.

Joking aside, McConnell said, had the pony been hit by a car moving at speed the driver and any occupants could have been seriously injured or killed. Animals running in roads are a daily local roadway hazard, he said, and cause a significant number of traffic accidents when drivers hit them, slam on their brakes or swerve and lose control trying to avoid them. "Children should not be tasked with restraining any animal near roadways, especially the large ones."



The unruly 500 to 600 pound pony would have also likely been injured or killed, he said. "No injures were reported but there were several near misses (by cars). The pony was just lucky. It was to it's owner unharmed and was secured. No citations were issued in this case, but had the pony been hit by a car - it would have been a different story. The business or owner providing the pony would have been financially liable for all injuries, property damages and other costs, which could have been significant," McConnell said.