Escaped Rodeo Cow Is On The Lam In The Alaska Wild, And No One Can Catch Her

Her owner has tried hay, salt blocks and even drones to capture his "ghost in the darkness."
A 3-year-old cow named Betsy (not pictured) is on the run in Alaska. Run, Betsy, run!
A 3-year-old cow named Betsy (not pictured) is on the run in Alaska. Run, Betsy, run!
Peter Cade via Getty Images

An elusive cow that escaped from a rodeo in Anchorage six months ago has been living her very best cow life in the Alaskan wilderness ever since ― despite multiple attempts to capture her.

Betsy, a wily 3-year-old, has dodged all her owner’s efforts, according to multiple reports. Those efforts include enlisting the local bike community, foot searches in the rain, leaving out barrels of hay and salt blocks for her to find, and even having police try to track her with drones.

Yet it’s almost like the cow can smell that bull from a mile away, and evades seizure every freakin’ time.

“I’m just totally exhausted from looking day in and day out,” Frank Koloski, Betsy’s owner, told The Washington Post on Tuesday. “She’s a go-getter, that’s for sure.”

Since Betsy fled her pen ― and her fate as an animal for kids to ride in junior rodeo events ― on Father’s Day, she has been basking in the freedom provided by Far North Bicentennial Park, a 4,000-acre park within the city’s limits. But despite the park being filled with rugged forest, she hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Koloski, 47, estimates that he’s gotten tips from joggers, bikers, cross-country skiers and the Anchorage Police Department claiming to have spotted a mysterious cow on the loose in the park. But whenever Koloski shows up, Betsy’s tracks are there, but she’s nowhere to be found.

Koloski, who refers to Betsy as his “ghost in the darkness,” does say he has a “plan” in place once he actually finds her — albeit one that may result in the loss of even more cows.

Koloski told the Post that once he nails down her exact location, he plans to release even more cows. He predicts Betsy will run to the cattle, and when she does, he and some of his rodeo pals will be on hand to help lasso ol’ Bets back into his possession.

Sure, that could work. Or it could be an udder disaster.

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