A pair of calves needed a break from playing their parts in a North Carolina church’s live Nativity scene and fled to a nearby state park.
The Carolina Beach Police Department posted about the incident on its Facebook page. Photos show officers in waist-deep water at the Carolina Beach State Park as they attempt to pull the swimming animals back to dry land.
“When you’re a police officer in a small island community, you may get some unusual calls,” the department wrote. The escapees had been part of the live Nativity scene at Seaside Chapel in the community of Carolina Beach. They were captured with the help of community volunteers and a “K9 with specialized herding skills,” the department reported.
Jerry Vess, the pastor of Seaside Chapel, where the Nativity scene is held, and his wife Dana first realized the calves were missing when police knocked on their door and told them their “actors” were on the run. It remains unclear how they managed to escape from their pen.
The calves were on the go for nearly 16 hours and ended up about nine blocks north at the state park. They won’t be returning to the live Nativity scene, which will now only involve donkeys and sheep.
Seaside Chapel’s “Journey to Bethlehem” — described as “an interactive walk-through Nativity complete with live animals” — attracted nearly 600 visitors on opening night December 3, 2022, the church reported.
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