Missing Dallas Zoo monkeys found inside Texas home: Police

DALLAS (NewsNation) — Police found two emperor tamarin monkeys in an empty home in Lancaster, located just south of Dallas, nearly 48 hours after they were reported missing.

The monkeys were found safe in a closet after police received a tip Tuesday. They are back at the Dallas Zoo and will get checked by veterinarians.

The Dallas Police Department released a photo and video Tuesday of a person who was seen walking around the zoo. They want to speak to him about the missing monkeys.

Police have not identified any suspects and no arrests have been made.

Investigators believe someone cut open the enclosure for the monkeys and took them on Monday.

However, this isn’t the first suspicious incident to happen at the zoo. In just two weeks, four different investigations have been opened involving animals and breached enclosures. 

Earlier this month, a clouded leopard named Nova escaped her enclosure after a cutting tool was used to make a hole in her habitat’s fence. The same type of hole was discovered in the langur monkey enclosure soon after.

Last week, a lappet-faced vulture was found dead in its enclosure with a wound that zoo officials described as “not natural.” The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

A former security guard joined NewsNation anonymously to protect his identity, as well as the safety of his former coworkers. He claims there are nearly 10 vulnerable entries into the zoo that someone could get past. He claims he was often advised not to go after people seen as trespassers and that some security guards on duty were aggressive.

“This upsets me quite a bit. Because as security you’re hired to protect that property and whatever creatures are there — human or animals,” the guard exclusively told NewsNation. “The Dallas Zoo is a huge black market gold mine — always has been.”

The former security guard said that he quit his job after he flagged security concerns, but they weren’t taken seriously by management.

NewsNation reached out to the security company and the Dallas Zoo for comment but haven’t heard back.

The Dallas Zoo is offering a $10,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest.