'Try and lasso the legs': Fugitive pig remains at large, continues damaging yards

A suspect that has taken social media by storm continues to roam free, evading police and residents, who report sightings of its big pink belly daily.
Issues arose over the weekend when the Sumter Police Department was notified of a “large, pink and elusive” pig wreaking havoc in the Freedom Boulevard area. As of Tuesday night, the farm animal remains uncaptured.
Tonyia McGirt, public information officer for the police department, said it is not a laughing matter and remains a public safety issue as it continues to damage properties. According to McGirt, the state Department of Natural Resources was helping at first but is no longer taking part in the search and seizure. Animal Control is now helping.
Although attempts to catch the pig are ongoing, residents continue to spot it roaming around the neighborhood and causing more damage every day. No one can seem to catch the swine.
Two Freedom Boulevard neighbors said their unwanted solicitor trots around constantly.
“It’s not a wild boar. It’s like a domesticated pig because he’s pretty tame,” said Beth Hughes said.
Hughes said the hog started by making a small hole on her property. That hole has grown into a mighty ditch.
She said she has seen him standing in the yard, trespassing until someone spooks him away.
“At one point, we had him cornered,” Hughes said, “and we were waiting for someone to come.”
Animal Control can only do so much, she said. The agency’s staff mostly work with traditional pets and the occasional snake, bird or alligator.
Whenever officers or neighborhood residents get close to catching the pig, it slips away and goes into hiding.
Photos of the damage it has done and his fugitive status have taken local social media by storm, with some posting photos after spotting it while others have advised to offer it popcorn — pigs love popcorn, apparently — or offered to turn it into a Christmas meal.
“He’s still on the loose as far as I know,” Hughes said.
Steve Goodson, who lives across from Hughes, said the trespasser keeps rooting around and making a mess on his property, but this isn't the first time his property has been damaged. It happened last summer, but he didn’t have a clue what caused it. It wasn’t until he witnessed this hog sod up his yard that he found the culprit.
“We’ve seen him both mornings and staying around for a while… He’ll go up and down the street,” Goodson said. “They chased it for about two to three hours.”
Goodson said the pig remains at large, and he’s heard it’s making its rounds in surrounding communities as far as five miles away.
Neither Hughes nor Goodson can make repairs because they assume their unwanted guest will return.
“I can’t do anything until I know it’s gone,” Goodson said.
Russel Singleton, owner and head hog slopper at Sunny Cedars Farm, has experience with farm pigs like this one. He said the pot belly pig, as he identified it, will continue to cause damage. It’s in its nature.
“Pigs root! That’s what they do,” Singleton said. “They eat the tops and the roots. They eat roots, shoots and tubers.”
Singleton said a pig’s nose is similar to a shovel, digging in whatever it tries to consume.
Singleton shared advice on how to catch a pig, but he said it isn’t an easy task. Trying to corner and grab it is not the way to go, nor is a normal lasso to the neck.
“A pig’s head is shaped like a cone. You can’t lasso one around its throat. When you tighten the noose, it slides right off,” he said. “You need to try and lasso the legs.”
Singleton recommended those who attempt to catch the pot belly pig lay a lasso down on the ground and wait for it to step inside before pulling the noose shut.
Does the popcorn advise check out?
Singleton recommended residents and/or officers use food, such us corn, feed, pet food, candy or anything except for onions and potatoes, to lure the hog into an enclosed area, like a fence, shed or trailer.
“If somebody would lure it in a fence,” Singleton said, “it’d be easy to catch. You could back a trailer in there and start to herd them to the trailer.”
Singleton said residents shouldn’t fear the domestic pig because it is not a wild hog, but he did recommend residents use caution and stay calm in its presence.
“All animals are unpredictable," he said, "especially when they’re cornered or scared."

Cal Cary contributed to this report.