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FRANKLIN, OH -- At about 6 AM Thursday morning (June, 25, 2026) "Charlie," as he has been named by the businesses that had been tending to his care had named him, was apprehended by the Warren County Humane Society. His crime — being a pig at the wrong place.
"The hog is in custody," wrote Franklin's City Manager early Thursday morning.
Officer Joanne Hurley, who spent the last several days trying to catch Charlie, explained she really doesn't know how long he may have been roaming the area. She got involved after he was seen walking down state Rt. 123 near the Wendy's and close to the I-75 exit ramp area.
"I heard people had been calling in thinking they had been seeing a black bear in the area for a few weeks... He's between 150 to 200 lbs," Hurley said, explaining that from a distance seeing, a large black animal like "Charlie" running through the wooded area, she could see how someone might have mistaken him for a bear.
USCRIMERADAR.com shows a call was made from Fisher Road in Hunter on May 27 at 8:14 AM about a large pig being reported in backyard pool... ''fire crews were dispatched to an animal rescue reported near Fisher Road after a caller said a roughly 600 pound pig was in a swimming pool. Responders later canceled the call after being advised the pig was out of he pool."
When looking at a map where Fisher Road is to Liberty Collision Center, where Charlie was captured, it is about four mile distance that consists of a lot of open fields and wooded lots with creeks running through the area.
The area where Charlie could have been roaming since the May 27th call of a pig in a pool.Once Charlie was apprehended he was taken back to the Warren County Humane Society where he was put into a nice fenced in area with grass and a pool of water. He will stay here until he is found a home suitable for a pig.
While Charlie was not happy about being captured at first, Hurley explained he seems to enjoy his new setting. "He's already rolled around in the big pool of water. He seems to be liking it here," she said, adding that she has also been able to feed him by hand.
Charlie relaxing in his new temporary home."You can tell he is used to being around people. He will eat from my hand, but he does not like to be petted," she said.
Hurley said she is really grateful to the businesses in the area that helped with Charlie's rescue. One of the companies even brought out its backhoe to help with the lifting of Charlie and his cage onto the Warren County Humane Society's vehicle.
What does the future hold for Charlie?
"We have word out to different farm sanctuaries that may have room for him," said Hurley, adding that she did not spend that last several days running through the woods to rescue him to have him sent to a slaughter house. "We will find him a home."
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