Missing king cobra found in Ocoee home

OCOEE The king cobra that has been on the loose in West Orange for more than a month has been found.

According to Orange County Animal Services, the venomous snake was found Wednesday night, hissing aggressively underneath a clothes dryer in the garage of a home on the 5000 block of Sawdust Circle, Ocoee, about one half-mile from the exotic animal rescue on North Apopka-Vineland Road from which it escaped Sept. 2. A microchip inside the snake, named Elvis, confirmed it belonged to rescue owner Mike Kennedy, and it was returned to him.

Animal Services officers Jenifer Porter and Kirsten Smith responded to a phone call from the Ocoee Police Department, unaware that it ultimately would lead them to Elvis, now famous.

Upon arrival, Porter and Smith heard the loud hissing. They called for backup to assist in the capture of the king cobra, the largest venomous snake. Animal Services officers Billy Ledford and Kimberly Duncan arrived to provide assistance to their colleagues.

In the garage, three Animal Services officers captured the snake amid a struggle, using snake tongs.

“I attempted to put the snake in my snake box, but it was too large to fit,” Ledford said. “I put the snake in a (cat) cage. I then put the contained snake in a secondary soft carrier that I had in the truck, double-securing the snake.”

Porter said the snake was about 8 to 10 feet in length.

The owner’s wife, Valerie Kennedy, was contacted and met with officers. She positively identified the snake as Elvis.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials fined Kennedy $366 for not reporting the snake missing in a timely manner. He had waited more than two days before he reported it to the commission and awaits a trial by jury.