Alligator still missing nearly a week after disappearing at Missouri middle school

A foot-long alligator with its mouth taped shut went missing at a middle school event nearly a week ago and still hasn't been found.

The alligator went missing Thursday from Lakeview Middle School in Kansas City. 

It was brought to the school by a company called Thorni Ridge Exotics as part of an end-of-the-year celebration for students who earned incentives, the Park Hill School District told USA TODAY Tuesday afternoon.

Last week, KC Pet Project, an agency hired to look for the gator, said the school did not have the proper permits to bring the gator to the school. The school said it had no idea permits were needed.

“Thorni Ridge Exotics did not inform us that any permits were required for their services due to any specific animals,” the district said.

But Eric Smith, owner of Thorni Ridge Exotics, said his company’s contract covers that pretty well. “We're not from that area and our contract states that whoever hires us is responsible for all licenses and permits,” he told USA TODAY Wednesday morning.

He thinks someone stole the 12-inch American gator, because its enclosure is meant to keep the animal inside.

“There's no physical way for them to get out of the enclosure,” he said. “Somebody would have had to have lifted it out of the enclosure.”

Read more:A petting zoo brought an alligator to a Missouri school event. The gator is now missing.

District informs parents about lost gator

The school district sent a statement to families to let them know about the situation.

“Well, this is (a) first for us,” the statement read, adding that there was a petting zoo at the outdoor event. 

“The petting zoo promotes a festival-like environment with a personal, firsthand opportunity to interact with exotic wildlife and domestic farm animals,” the district wrote in its statement. “During this petting zoo activity, the petting zoo lost track of their foot-long alligator with its mouth taped shut.”

According to the school district, petting zoo staff looked for the small alligator that afternoon to no avail. KC Pet Project and the Kansas City Fire Department also helped.

“There is no threat to public safety, again because the small reptile’s mouth is taped shut, and we will be working with the petting zoo company throughout the search,” the district wrote. 

When asked about whether the gator had been found Wednesday morning, the school district said “Not to our knowledge.”

Animal Services says no permit was granted to bring alligator to event

KC Pet Project’s Animal Services Division, which has been searching for the reptile, said Thursday that alligators are not allowed in Kansas City and a citation will be issued for the violations.

The agency searched "for hours the day of the event once we were alerted that the animal was missing," KC Pet Project said in a statement to USA TODAY Tuesday.

"We were alerted the animal was (missing) several hours after it was discovered to not be in the enclosure," the statement said. "The teams searched all around the school grounds and in the brush by the school, which was very dense."

Officers continued to search along creek beds near water for hours on Friday and patrolled the area over the weekend.

The Kansas City Fire Department also showed up last week to help with a drone in tow, but the animal still hasn't been found.

"At this time, we are not continuing our search efforts but will be responsive to any reports of sightings or possible sightings," KC Pet Project told USA TODAY Tuesday afternoon.

Smith, owner of Thorni Ridge Exotics, said his company hasn't had this happen before.

“We do thousands of these and no one has ever taken one or anything like that,” he said. “There's a 0% chance that it could get out.”

The school district asks that anyone who sees the alligator call animal control at (816) 601-3473.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at@SaleenMartin or email her atsdmartin@usatoday.com.