Three-Foot-Long Alligator Corralled in Bethlehem

And you thought all those "alligators in the sewers" tales were nothing more than urban legends....

Bethlehem police say they corralled a three-foot long alligator that a resident found in the 1400 block of Schoenersville Road--which is near the Monocacy Creek--at about 7pm Monday night.

Police are trying to find out where the alligator came from and are asking anyone with information to call them.

When police arrived at the scene, the resident was holding the alligator, which had its mouth wide open. Two detectives used a dog harness to leash the gator, and then used tape from the police crime scene van to tape its gaping mouth shut, police said.

Police brought the scaly critter back to their headquarters at Bethlehem City Hall and kept it in a juvenile holding area until an exotic animal handler arrived to pick it up.

Anyone with information about the alligator and where it may have come from is asked to contact the Bethlehem Police Department at 610-865-7187 or 610-997-7672.