Kevin Bacon, the runaway pig, is back home: How he hogged the viral limelight with escape
Kevin Bacon, the internet-famous runaway pig from Pennsylvania, is now back home after finally being captured on Halloween.
This comes after two weeks of playing hide and seek with his owner Chelsea Rumbaugh. The pig became an internet sensation and also caught the attention of the actor Kevin Bacon who petitioned for his return.
Rumbaugh told the Evening Sun, part of the USA TODAY Network, that she had interacted with the pig Kevin Bacon on Tuesday morning from a short distance in her yard, but as he had done countless times in the past, he eventually ran away.
Later in the morning, as Rumbaugh stepped outside to sweep her yard to see if he was hiding anywhere, she spotted Kevin in his pen and immediately bolted to close the door to the pen, putting an end to a long struggle of getting him home.
Rumbaugh rescued Kevin from Millersburg, where his original owners had too many pets and couldn't give him the care he needed. Those owners had gotten Kevin when he was a piglet to be a small, in-home pig, but once he outgrew the house, he spent his days outdoors without social interaction.
Here’s a timeline of events from when Kevin ran away to his capture:
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October 14: The escape
On Saturday, Oct. 14, Kevin Bacon uprooted one of the poles in his pig pen located on a small farm just outside of Gettysburg, a small town 150 miles from Philadelphia, and snuck out from underneath.
Rumbaugh, of Cumberland Township, put out a post on social media asking her community to be on the lookout for Kevin and help her get him back.
Rumbaugh documented her quest to return Kevin Bacon to her farm through a Facebook page, "Bring Kevin Bacon Home."
October 16: Hide and seek
Over the weekend, Rumbaugh spotted the pig making his way on her property several times but every time anyone approached him, he would run away and hide. In multiple videos, Rumbaugh posted to the page, Kevin is seen in a tree line on her property from a distance, retreating into the woods as she approaches.
As of Monday, Rumbaugh has determined the path that Kevin has been using to sneak in and out of their property and has cleared the trail to be able to keep tabs on his activity. She thinks that Kevin is having too much fun at this point and does not want to be caught.
On Monday, Kevin came onto the property, uprooted the flowers Rumbaugh had just planted, pooped in front of the pig pen gate, and trotted back into the woods.
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October 17 - October 31: Escape saga continues
Kevin continues to play hide and seek with Rumbaugh, coming home to eat food before running off into the woods again, despite Rumbaugh attempts to capture him.
Over the course of the capture attempts, Rumbaugh tried it all. People had brought in drones, she had learned how to tie a lasso, she had organized search groups, she had set up large traps, and much more.
"If it was a feasible option for us, we tried it," she said.
But Kevin would evade them all every time.
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October 28: Kevin Bacon, the actor, takes notice
On Friday evening, Kevin caught the attention of his award-winning namesake, who shared "Bring Kevin Bacon Home!" to his Threads account and Instagram story, with a link to an article about the footloose pig.
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October 31: Return home
After two weeks of partying in the wild, Kevin returned to his pen and was immediately caught by Rumbaugh who closed the door to his new and upgraded pen.
"He was a little rowdy when he first realized the door was closed, but since then, he's settled into the three different beds he's made for himself," Rumbaugh told the Evening Sun, adding that she had a local farmer come and assess his health. He also received medication for deworming in case he had picked up any worms while on the run.
Kevin's new pen is significantly stronger than the one he first escaped from, Rumbaugh told the Sun. The new pen, made of sturdy wood beams, is reinforced with concrete underneath the posts, preventing Kevin from digging them up like he did in the past.
"Eventually, what lured him in was just being gentle and letting him come in at his own pace," she said.