Picture from the Jasper County Sheriff's Department shows one of the escaped monkeys.

A third and final lab monkey has been found after being on the loose for over a week due to a truck carrying the animals overturning on a Mississippi highway.

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks announced in a news release on Thursday, Nov. 6, that the last monkey on the loose was found near the crash site.

A resident called officials, told them the monkey’s location, and this allowed a local officer and a wildlife transport contractor to recover the animal, according to the wildlife department. It is unclear if the monkey was found alive, and the department has not responded to USA TODAY's request for comment.

The rhesus monkey escaped after the truck carrying it overturned on Oct. 28. The vehicle was hauling 21 monkeys that day, and eight of them escaped. Five of the escaped monkeys were recovered at the crash site, leaving three on the loose, the Jasper County Sheriff's Department shared in an Oct. 28 Facebook post.

Of the three monkeys that escaped, one was fatally shot in front of 35-year-old Jessica Bond Ferguson's home in Heidelberg, Mississippi, on Sunday, Nov. 2, she told USA TODAY.

"He was opening his mouth and stuff," Bond Ferguson said, describing the monkey's movements. "Like you could see his teeth and stuff."

A second monkey was shot on the interstate on Monday, Nov. 3, when someone saw it crossing the highway about a mile away from the original crash scene, the Associated Press (AP) and NOLA.com reported.

Contrary to initial reports from local law enforcement, the escaped lab monkeys were not infectious, according to Tulane University. The school added that it does not own the monkeys and that a separate agency was transporting the animals from the university when the truck overturned.

Research company PreLabs LLC confirmed to the AP and TV station WDAM 7 that it owns the monkeys, which it clarified are not infected with COVID-19, hepatitis or herpes.

Community members thought monkeys were infectious

The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department shared conflicting information about the highway incident that led to the monkeys’ escape, including a Facebook post that incorrectly stated the monkeys carry hepatitis C, herpes and COVID-19. Later that day, the sheriff’s office shared Tulane University's statement, which said the monkeys are not infectious.

According to the sheriff's department, the truck driver gave them the incorrect information, and they took "the appropriate actions."

Bond Ferguson, who was under the impression that the monkeys were infectious, said she spotted the animal chasing their family’s dog. She told USA TODAY that she shot the monkey in fear that it would harm her children and others in the area.

"I don't want him to get ahold of my child or anybody else's child and harm them, attack them, kill them, infect them," Bond Ferguson said. “It's no telling what they really might do to you."

According to Bond Ferguson, community members were sharing news of the "infected monkeys" via text after the truck carrying the animals overturned. She did not find out the animals weren't infectious until she posted about shooting one of them on social media, she recalled.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol is still investigating the cause of the crash that led to the monkeys' escape.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Final lab monkey found a week after Mississippi truck crash, officials say

Reporting by Saleen Martin, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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