Rumors of large constrictor snake in Sikeston are false

SIKESTON - Rumors of a 20-foot snake are down the drain.

Sikeston Department of Public Safety began receiving reports last week of a large snake in the north end of Sikeston. According to DPS Lt. Jim McMillen, a resident in the Meadowbrook and Greenbrier area photographed a snake about 2-inches in diameter and 7 to 9-feet long from her bedroom window as it navigated its way through a small tree. The residence is near a tree-line drainage ditch that runs just north of the neighborhood.

"Unfortunately (or fortunately) this story has been exaggerated since the initial report," McMillen said in a news release. "Word of a 20-foot constrictor terrorizing the neighborhood got back to the reporting party. The resident said she was surprised at these larger-than-life rumors. She reiterated to me the actual size of the snake and laughed at the gossip."

Because of concerns brought to DPS, McMillen said he took the three photographs the resident took of the snake and showed them to Jennifer Weaver, a naturalist at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center. Weaver confirmed the species of the snake as a "black rat snake."

According to Weaver, the black rat snake is a non-venomous species that is native to Missouri. McMillen said she told him it is one of the largest snakes in the state with an average length 3.5 to 6-feet long.

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