A slithery surprise for Friday the 13th

Officer catches snake after call from familiar voice

Of all the calls police officers take, none can be more unnerving than one to their own home.

Hillsboro officer David Funk got such a call from his wife while he was on duty Friday the 13th, but unnerving? Hardly.

“It was just a very small snake that was in the driveway,” he said. “She knew I’d take care of it. She wasn’t scared or panicked or anything. She just doesn’t like spiders. She thought it was neat.”

Funk arrived at home to discover what he believes was a Great Plains rat snake, all of about 7 inches long, sunning itself in the driveway.

Living close to the Tabor College campus with its extra traffic, Funk was concerned for the snake’s safety, so he corralled it.

“I took it out and released in the country,” he said.

For his wife, it was the second creepy creature encounter she’d had in a week.

“Just the week before, my wife found a bat at work,” Funk said. “A bat one week, a snake the next. With October and Halloween coming up, who knows what’s next?”