EXCLUSIVE Local in South Carolina town with lab monkeys on loose reveals terrifying encounter with 'diseased' animal READ MORE: South Carolina residents lock down homes amid monkey escape By LUKE ANDREWS SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 22:52 GMT, 7 November 2024 | Updated: 23:09 GMT, 7 November 2024 e-mail View comments A resident in the South Carolina town where dozens of monkeys are on the loose has revealed their terrifying encounter with one of the 'diseased' animals from a separate incident. This Wednesday lunchtime 43 rhesus macaques escaped from a research facility known as the 'monkey farm' in Yemassee, a town of just 1,000 about 50 miles west of Charleston.
It sparked a major search operation with police setting up traps and cameras around the town and urging locals to lock their doors and windows to keep out the primates — though officers insist there is 'no threat' to public health. Residents say in recent years they have dealt with multiple escapes involving monkeys linked to the Alpha Genesis lab — but this is the first time they have been told to lock down their homes. A local business owner, who asked to remain anonymous, told DailyMail.
com how they came face-to-face with a monkey with a 'softball-sized' tumor on its neck and a deranged look in its eyes in a separate incident they said occurred in 2020. The local heard clattering on their store roof and came outside to find the animal on top of their AC, describing it as 'freaky'. 'It lo.