A Bald Eagle was returned to its handler earlier this week after landing in the front yard of a St. Joseph City Councilmember’s home.

Kent O’Dell said on July 3rd he got a Pre-Independence Day surprise like no other.

“We noticed this eagle landing in the front of my house in the yard. We walked up there and here’s this fully grown 15-year-old, 9 lbs Bald Eagle,” O’Dell said.

O’Dell said he noticed leathers on the bird’s talons and deduced the eagle came from Phil Welch Stadium from the St. Joseph Mustangs and he started making calls.

“I said, ‘Man I got your bird up here, I’m pretty sure it’s your bird.’ Next thing you know he said, ‘Man we’re on our way up,'” O’Dell said. “The handler was very emotional because the transmitter had gone dead at that instant that afternoon and he literally thought he had lost his Bald Eagle.”

A group of handlers came out to retrieve the bird from O’Dell’s house which was about a block away from the stadium.

According to the St. Joseph Mustangs’ Facebook Page in a comment, the eagle took a detour during his flight at the game Monday but was recovered safely due to some help from a family where the bird landed. O’Dell said the eagle’s detour was the most magnificent thing he has ever seen.
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