Moe the chimp goes missing

A well-known chimp named Moe -- whose owner was brutally attacked by two other chimapanzees held in captivity -- is missing from the wildlife facility where he lived, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said Saturday.

“I have a chimp missing. I don’t know if he escaped or not,” said Tom Betty, a supervisor with the department.

Moe was believed to have escaped from the Jungle Exotics center, a wild animal rental business that caters to the movie and television industry. He probably fled into the San Bernardino National Forest and was being sought by animal control officers.

In 2005, Moe was living in a Kern County animal reserve near Bakersfield after having been removed from the home of St. James and LaDonna Davis, a West Covina couple who had raised him. During a party to celebrate Moe’s 39th birthday, two other chimps attacked the couple, badly mutilating St. James Davis.