Lexington road crew discovers lost monkey along I-75

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Lexington road crew discovered a lost monkey, leading to an emotional reunion between the monkey and its owners.

According to a report by LEX 18, the discovery was made along I-75 on Thursday, where Dustin Hurst was helping clean up litter along the 99-mile marker. That's when something caught his eye.

"I've seen bears and snakes and everything else out there," he said. "But that's the first monkey I've ever seen."

Hurst said he spotted a capuchin monkey along the interstate.

"I set my sign out and I kind of eased up through there and I looked over and seen a face," he said.

He quickly called police and animal control.

"It was just sitting underneath the brush there," Hurst said. "I kind of got out and went to go see if it would come to me or not. I got some crackers out of the truck and it would come up and grab a cracker and then it would run back. It done it three or four different times. Finally, I got him a bottle of water out and poured a bottle of water in there and he drank out of it."

Authorities said the monkey, named Max, had disappeared after a crash in the area on Tuesday. The monkey had been traveling with his owners, but after the crash, it ran away from the vehicle.

After Max was found, officials were able to get in touch with the owners, who arrived for an emotional reunion.

"You could see the excitement on the monkey and the lady as well," Hurst said. "She burst out in tears when she seen it. He was squalling, jumping to her. He was tickled plumb to death to see her. You could tell the love that she had for the monkey and the monkey had for her."

According to Hurst, it appeared that the monkey injured his arm. Lexington Police would not release any information on the monkey's condition or where its owners were headed when the crash occurred.