It started as a wildlife call and ended in handcuffs.
Just before 11 p.m. on 6th Street, a panicked caller dialed 911 to report an uninvited, furry guest in the kitchen — a possum had allegedly wandered in, giving an elderly woman and her grandkids quite the late-night fright.
But when officers arrived, they didn’t just find North America’s only marsupial — they also found the woman herself had an open warrant for theft. Yep, turns out the possum wasn’t the only one in trouble that night.
Officers booked the woman into the Scioto County Jail, but the possum pulled a Houdini, retreating into the ceiling and vanishing from sight. With no sign of the sneaky critter, officers advised the woman’s family to contact Animal Control in the morning. Meanwhile, the grandmother gathered the grandkids and left the home for the night.
🐾 Possums: Scary-Looking, But Mostly Harmless
While a surprise possum in the kitchen might sound like a horror flick, experts say there’s no need to panic:
- Possums are non-aggressive and rarely carry rabies.
- They actually help communities by eating ticks, cockroaches, and even venomous snakes.
- When threatened, they “play possum”— basically fainting and pretending to be dead.
So the next time you see one, don’t freak out. They’re nature’s cleanup crew, not criminals.
BOTTOM LINE:
This possum escaped custody.
The homeowner didn’t.
And Portsmouth officers once again proved that you never know what’s waiting behind the next 911 call.
24 hours later, the family called back to say they had the possum cornered in the laundry room and needed help getting it back. However, by the time officers arrived, the animal had fled back into the ceiling. They said they had already removed 8 possums from the property. Police advised them once again to call Animal Control. Officers also noted the house was infested with roaches and in a state of disrepair. As of now, the possum is still at large.
