Susan -- October 26, 1998

October 26, 1998

The chase began around 5 pm in the Bayberry Neighborhood Association of New Rochelle, where the Long Island Sound hamlet has been plagued by a master of escape, edangering area residents and terrorizing pets.

Jim Dreisacker, a New York State Licensed Nuisance Wildlife Control Agent, the politically correct term for "trapper," for Westchester Wildlife Control, had captured a female coyote around 4 pm and had it tethered to a Ketch-all pole, as photographer Susan B.Markisz arrived on the scene.

In recent years, coyotes have proliferated in suburban areas in Westchester County and have been responsible for menacing and injuring pets and children. In this particular neighborhood, coyotes were responsible for the death of a household pet in its own backyard.

Children and area residents gathered around to have a look at the animal, which resembled a common species otherwise known as a dog. Five year old Samantha Weisman cried out "nice doggy" as she approached the animal to pet it, while her father Mitch yanked her quickly out of harm's way.

As the coyote began to hiss, children and adults alike cowered. One neighbor, who refused to be identified, asked Mr. Dreisacker if he was going to "catch and release" the animal.

The nuisance control agent explained that for the good of the community, the coyote would have to be euthanized and tested for rabies. The neighbor wasn't happy.

As onlookers were asked to leave the area for their own safety, Mr. Dreisacker secured the coyote in the back of his truck with the Ketch-all pole, next to a captured raccoon who quietly wondered why he was in a cage and Wile E.Coyote was not.

Accompanied by the photographer, Mr. Dreisacker left the sleepy coyote securely tethered to the pole inside the truck, while he reset his trap in the woods, taking no more than 10 minutes while photographer Markisz documented the process.

When the trapper and photographer returned to the truck, Wile E. had made clean his escape, leaving behind traces of neither the Ketch-all pole, nor signs of a struggle.

Raccoon had no comment.

Photographer Markisz, meanwhile, hot on the trail of this breaking news development, called her editor who said: "Keep following the story, sounds like fun!"

Dreisacker and Markisz, meanwhile, spent an hour as dusk became dark, searching the woods for signs of the coyote. Dreisacker, who spent his life growing up in Westchester, periodically stopped and listened to the night sounds of the forest, for clues to the escaped coyote.

The hike around Larchmont reservoir and surrounding woods was an education for Markisz, who has lived the last 23 years in New York City, and whose only other experience with a coyote was to photograph one which had been wandering around the Bronx in 1996. The coyote had already met its fate with a bullet by local cops who had feared that it was sick with rabies. That picture had made local headlines.

"I think I heard something," said Markisz, to whom the unflappable trapper patiently explained, "Yep, you did, it's a squirrel." Or "it's only an acorn dropping." Markisz's mistake was not wearing hiking boots. A bart injury resulting in a small fracture, had sent her to the ER 3 weeks earlier, while doing a private portrait commission, nearly causing her to give up photography altogether.

Meanwhile, there were no signs of Wile E. nor the Ketch-all pole, leaving the trapper-photographer team to speculate that it was a disgruntled wildlife enthusiast who had released the coyote.

Dreisacker indicated he would return early the next morning to continue the search. A call to the photo desk revealed that they were no longer interested in finding the varmint, but seeing the film instead. A disappointed Markisz, on learning that she wouldn't be able to follow the story to its conclusion, limped out of the forest, reminding herself to do a tick check at home and having learned her girl scout (or was it boy scout) lesson: "Be Prepared," as her bart swelled up to the size of New Rochelle!

The elusive coyote was found early the next morning by the nuisance control agent. Wile E. Coyote had apparently jumped out of the truck and wandered only a few feet away, hiding underneath some bushes, thus proving the adage, "anything you lost is usually where you left it."

Susan Markisz

October 26, 1998

James Dreisacker chats with neighbors after he captured a female coyote in the Bayberry section of New Rochelle. Michael Hilton looks on. Moments after this picture was taken, the coyote jumped out of the truck and temporarily escaped into the woods. © 1998 Susan B. Markisz for The New York Times