Daring raccoon rescue from building ledge caught on camera

OAK PARK, Mich. (WJBK) - After several days, a masked bandit caused a stir on Facebook as employees wondered and worried about a raccoon stuck on a sixth floor ledge.

Wednesday night at the Oak Park building a dramatic raccoon rescue attempt was caught on camera Wednesday night.

The critter has been the all the talk and rave at the Crowne Pointe Office Building trapped on a ledge on the eighth floor for days. SWAT Critter Solutions used a lift bucket to get to him and nets to trap and then break the raccoon’s fall.

Once on the ground it took off, scurrying under cars and racing to the Popeye's chicken joint on Greenfield - the rescue crew hot on its heels.

The raccoon, nicknamed Bandit, scurried off and it was back to the parking lot and under another car, then under the hood. The office building puts the call out who owns the maroon Honda? Come pop the hood.

There he is and it was all hands on deck literally, as the crew dug him out of the engine block and finally, mission accomplished.

"Every rescue is unique," said Laurie Briggs, from the rescue crew. "Every single one."

The window ledge where Bandit was stuck, was actually the Hewson & Van Hellemont law firm. They were preparing for a trial but all the attention was focused on the outside of the window.

The same situation played out in 2016 at the Toronto Star where the fire department had to rescue a baby raccoon stuck on the fourth floor for days. But Oak Park city manager Erik Tungate told FOX 2 he's reluctant to put a firefighter in danger and their ladder won't reach. That left the building management to hire a professional critter service.

By law they can't pursue wild animals on private property - the building owner has to take care of it. It was a situation that's drew quite the crowd.

"That's the one good thing about this business - something new every day," said Justin Shaughter, SWAT Critter Solutions.

And from here that raccoon is headed to a wildlife resource center. They will feed him, make sure he's hydrated, healthy and ready to be released back into the wild.