Capture of escaped monkey in tutu called 'bananas'

A monkey in a pink tutu that slipped out of a Missouri home was captured just before a winter storm slammed the state.

“Bananas” is how the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office described the apprehension of the primate in a Facebook post.

The spider monkey was spotted Friday afternoon at the intersection of two highways near the town of Otto, just to the south of the St. Louis area. The monkey had been staying at a nearby home when it managed to open a door and get outside.

The sheriff’s office said the small monkey was returned to its caretaker after “careful negotiations and some coaxing.” Photos posted on the sheriff’s department Facebook page show a deputy kneeling on the ground before the tutu-clad monkey approached and grabbed his hands.

The sheriff’s office said its a great example of how officers “having to be prepared to handle whatever the job throws at them.”

The timing was fortuitous. A winter storm packing snow and ice hit the region on Saturday, closing roads and sending temperatures plunging.