Though quite adept at catching snapping turtles, Elm Grove resident Jason Thorn never thought he'd be called upon to snare an alligator.

It just goes to show you never know when - or how - your skills will come in handy. On Aug. 27, Thorn found that out when he fished a 2 1/2-foot alligator out of Big Wheeling Creek in Marshall County near the Shoemaker Mine bridge.

"Never in a million years did I dream there would ever be an alligator in Big Wheeling Creek," Thorn said.

Thorn was visiting a friend when a concerned neighbor called after reporting the alligator sighting to animal control. Thorn said the responding animal control officer took a picture of the reptile and said he'd be back in the morning to capture it.

"She was sort of freaked out," Thorn said of his friend's neighbor. "I thought, what's the chance of that alligator being there tomorrow?" While he was doubtful of the alligator sighting at first, he headed down to the creek to check things out. Sure enough, he spotted the gator from the bridge and decided to take matters into his own hands. With "spotters" Cameron Fisher and Jimmy Shepherd keeping watch from the bridge, Thorn descended the creek bank with fishing net in hand. He said as he approached the alligator, it hid beneath a large rock.

After flushing the reptile out from under the rock, Thorn said it took him about 15 minutes and three swipes with the net to corral the sharp-toothed animal. He added the task wasn't too difficult because the alligator remained in shallow water, although "he was sort of feisty at first." Animal control retrieved the animal the next morning. Thorn credited his father, who taught him at an early age the art of hunting snapping turtles, with enabling him to snare the Big Wheeling Creek alligator. "Those things can take your arms off. Their bite is lightning fast," he said of snapping turtles. "I figured if I can handle a snapping turtle, I can handle this alligator."

Thorn said he has no idea how the animal came to visit Marshall County, but he speculated it was a pet that either escaped from its owner or was let loose after it grew too large.

Marshall County Animal Control Officer Jim Noice previously said he doesn't advise residents to try capturing wild animals themselves. "We have the equipment to take care of these things, and it can be very dangerous for the public," Noice said.