A St. Paul neighborhood effort to recover a lost pet ended in tragedy when the bird was struck and killed by a car as it flew back toward its owner, community members said.
Scancy Aiken of the Hamline neighborhood lost her 15-year-old nanday conure, Nerys, on the morning of Sept. 2 after one of her sons left the door open. The bright green parrot, named after a character from the television show Star Trek, became stuck in a nearby tree and remained there overnight, Aiken told the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Aiken used social media to ask neighbors for help locating and rescuing Nerys, posting that she could see and hear the bird but could not reach her. A man who identified himself only as Jamie arrived with tree-climbing gear and managed to coax the parrot out of the first tree, witnesses said. Nerys flew toward a nearby park and was later sighted in a tree in front of Jehovah Lutheran Church across the street.
Neighbors mounted several attempts to recover the bird. Church staff offered a ladder that was not tall enough, and a resident climbed the tree and wedged a pet carrier with food between branches in the hope the parrot would enter it. Another person climbed about 20 feet and used a clothesline for about 15 minutes to try to reach Nerys, according to Aiken�27s social posts.
At one point the parrot fell from the tree onto pavement and briefly flew again. Aiken ran into the street and tried to grab Nerys, but the bird was struck by a passing car. A man who had climbed the tree checked the bird and thought she might only have been stunned, but Aiken said Nerys was dead when she reached her. "She was really weak and scared and couldn't fly very far," Aiken said.
Aiken posted pleas and updates on Facebook and Instagram during the search, writing, "I can see her, I can hear her. I just can't get to her," and asking for anyone with a very tall ladder or tree-climbing ability. She later described the help she received from people in alleys and on streets near the gas station, saying they were among those who aided the search.
The day after the parrot�27s death, a pastor from Jehovah Lutheran Church visited Aiken's home to read Bible verses. The family buried Nerys in their yard and held a small ceremony that Aiken called "very meaningful" and a source of closure. She wrapped the bird in a towel bearing the Spanish phrase "Te amo mi coraz�f3n es tuyo," which translates to "I love you, my heart is yours."
Neighbors and those who responded to Aiken�27s online pleas expressed sympathy and reflected on the communal effort to help a pet in distress. The case highlights how social media and local goodwill were mobilized quickly in search of a lost pet, even as the effort concluded in an unexpected and sorrowful outcome.