PATTERSON, La. — Authorities in southern Louisiana are trying to find the owner of a chicken that was found in the backpack of a child who decided to run away from home.

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“Anybody missing a rooster?” the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post on May 31.

According to the sheriff, the child, whose age was not given, had decided to leave home “to start a better life,” but brought along a rooster dubbed “Ole Foghorn,” WBRZ-TV reported.

The bird was apparently placed into the child’s backpack, although it was uncertain how they managed to convince the rooster to enter such a confined space.

According to the Facebook post, the child was quickly found by deputies, but they were puzzled about the bird.

“Ole Foghorn here was a bit shaken up but unharmed,” deputies wrote. “Now, here’s the kicker -- the rooster did not belong to the kid, and we’re still scratching our heads as to how exactly he ended up with it. So, we have a bit of a mystery on our hands and, well, a rooster.”

For now, Ole Foghorn is being held in the Patterson Animal Control facility while officials await someone to claim him, WBRZ reported.

Deputies joked that the bird was cooped up in the “Witness Protection Program” at the facility and marveled at how odd the story was.

“You can’t make this stuff up,” the sheriff’s office wrote.

Facebook members responding to the post were equally amused, with several telling deputies that the child had actually “kidnapped” a hen, not a rooster. Authorities are still combing through the details.

“Somebody call CPS -- chicken protection service,” one person wrote.

“Man. ... In the Pokémon book sack!” another person wrote. “Puts a new meaning to gotta catch them all!!!”

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