Hoke County farmer mistakes escaped boa for a fence post
A Hoke County farmer putting up a fence near Raeford spotted what he thought was a dropped fence post. It was a 6–7ft pet boa constrictor missing for about a month.
Forget spare timber. On Wednesday 4 November 2026, Hoke County farmer Richard Wood was putting up a fence on Calloway Road near Raeford, North Carolina, when he spotted what he thought was a dropped fence post.
“Lo and behold, it wasn’t a fence post; it was a snake,” Wood told WRAL. The “post” was a 6–7ft pet boa constrictor, missing for about a month since early October. His wife had been worried it might still be out there; he had insisted it could not still be alive.
Stock photo: a boa constrictor on sunlit ground – not the Hoke County snake. Photo: Juan Diavanera / Pexels Licence (via Pexels, downloaded 6 Nov 2026).
Wood and his daughter Peyton guided the boa into a plastic storage tub. A friend who raises snakes offered advice, then Hoke County Animal Control and Matthew “Mountain Matt” George collected it. The snake had escaped from a home about four doors down; the owner had moved to Wilmington and left the pet with his father. The boa’s name has not been reported.
AI illustration – imagined capture; not the actual family, snake or tub.
AI illustration – imagined punchline. (Spot Gaz, our gorilla, hiding somewhere in this picture.)
One man’s fence post. One very long surprise.
Reported by UPI Odd News (6 Nov 2026) and WRAL.
