Boa constrictor is back home with original owner after being found in Arizona's man's truck

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - We have an update on a boa constrictor that hitched a ride from Mesa to Scottsdale in a pickup truck.

She's been reunited with her original owner. The man, James, picked up the snake on Nov. 26 from a reptile sanctuary in north Scottsdale.

The reunion comes two weeks after the boa constrictor slithered away to Scottsdale in the engine compartment of a pickup truck.

James picked her up at the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary. He says he sold his pet snake, whose name is Chicken Strip, to a woman in Mesa two years ago. He says the woman was keeping the snake in an outdoor pen in her backyard, and assumes Chicken Strip got loose.

On Nov. 12, a man named Aaron Ricks drove from Mesa to Scottsdale. When he took his lunch break, he noticed something dangling from the front of his truck near the engine.

"I thought it was a grocery bag or some sort of plastic, maybe I ran over something, so I walked back over to the truck to see what it was and was totally shocked to see this big ole snake looking down and looking right back at me," Ricks said.

Ricks called the non-emergency police line, which then transferred him to the Scottsdale Fire Department. Firefighters showed up and rescued the snake, which was sent to the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary.

Her original owner, James, says he saw coverage of her on the news and found photos he had of her to make the match. He says he's reached out to the Mesa woman who bought Chicken Strip, but says she hasn't responded.

Chicken Strip is back home with James.