Survey worker said he spotted escaped monkeys in South Carolina, then alerted research facility

YEMASSEE, S.C. (WCBD) – The search is on for 43 monkeys who escaped a South Carolina research facility.

Land surveyor Daniel Vance was working near the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee on Wednesday when he saw strange movement in a wooded area.

“We were taking our lunch break, and I looked out of my truck, and I noticed a disturbance, a tree branch kind of moving unusually,” he said.

While Vance said he knew monkeys were at the facility, he thought it was a raccoon or some other animal making noise in the woods.

“I pulled my truck forward a little and realized that it was monkeys, and they were coming out of that tree and shimmying down and going on to the ground,” he explained. “So, I told my co-worker, and we got out and got a little closer to see. But we didn’t want to get too close for obvious reasons.”

Dozens of monkeys were on the run.

Vance believes the animals were roughly 75 to 100 feet away from him and didn’t want to get too close in case the animals were aggressive. “We got our phones out and started taking videos, seeing what we could see,” he said.

The monkeys ran through the woods east of the facility, he said. They made a comeback and then went further west. Vance said they immediately called Alpha Genesis to report what they saw. Vance said they seemed unaware that the monkeys had escaped.

The Yemassee Police Department confirmed that 43 rhesus macaque primates escaped the facility on Wednesday afternoon after an employee did not fully shut an enclosure.

Law enforcement and workers from the facility have set up traps and thermal imaging cameras around the area and are working to safely and humanely capture the animals. None had been captured as of Thursday midday.

The primates are described as very young females weighing roughly 6-7 lbs. Police said the animals had never been used for testing because of their young age and weight. A spokesperson from the facility confirmed through the Yemassee Police that the animals are too young to carry disease.

“We want to assure the community that there is no health risk associated with these animals,” Yemassee police said.

Residents are asked to keep their doors and windows securely closed to keep the primates from entering their homes. “If you spot any escaped animals, do not approach them and call 911 immediately,” police said.

There have been similar incidents at the Alpha Genesis facility in the past. In 2016, 19 monkeys escaped from the compound because of a broken or loose cage door, and in 2014, 26 monkeys escaped.

Alpha Genesis was fined $12,000 by federal officials for violations related to the escapes and the handling of animals. In 2023, Alpha Genesis also entered into a federal contract to oversee the daily care of the monkey colony on Morgan Island – often referred to as Monkey Island – which consists of around 3,000 monkeys.

Congresswoman Nancy Mace, who represents South Carolina’s 1^st Congressional District, said on X that her team was “diligently digging in to get more information on what happened.”