A mystery creature is haunting the streets of Texas. Described by some terrified witnesses as a monkey, by others as a chimpanzee and as “anything’s possible” by police, a sense of apprehension is spreading.

The unidentified humanoid has been repeatedly spotted in the city of Santa Fe, with one witness claiming they saw the beast attempt to snatch a cat.

The alarm was first raised in the early hours of Monday, when a woman named Patricia de la Mora called the police to say she had seen some kind of primate causing pandemonium on the corner of 24th and East Bellaire streets in the south west of the city.

She had apparently been woken up after midnight by thunder and lightning, and after urging her husband to look out of the window when she heard “strange noises”, eventually got out of bed herself, opened the curtains and was “paralysed by fear”.

“I look out the window and I see it was in there. It was a monkey, a big one,” she told US news outlet KVUE.

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Ms de la Mora said she did not have time to get her phone, but stood at her bedroom window stunned by what she saw.

“He tried to find something,” she said. “He looked over there, then he looked over there, and I closed the curtain. I didn’t want him to see me.”

But when police arrived the creature had vanished, and despite an hour-long search, all trace of the supposed animal had also evaporated.

However, the enigmatic agitator soon struck again.

The following day, police received a similar report from the same part of town, from a woman who claimed she spent 20 minutes hiding in her car.

Local news station KHOU-TV, quoted the woman as saying on Facebook: “Just had a monkey try to attack me, while checking my mail. I’ve spent the last 20 minutes in my car.”

Police again launched a futile search for any physical manifestation of the supposed monkey's existence.

Several residents in the area then reported on social media they had seen a monkey, with one person claiming the creature had tried to kidnap their cat, and another saying a child has also been “attacked”.

Police have said they cannot confirm any of the sightings but acknowledged they could well be true.

TV reporters have been sent to the area.

“Certified primate teams are out here, right now, in the Santa Fe area,” Fox News reported.

“Law enforcement actually flew drones around the area, but we’re told no monkey was spotted,” Natalie Hee, Fox’s reporter on the ground, told viewers.

Bayou Animal Services which deals with animal control in the area was unable to provide any further insight into the veracity of the claims.

They said: “We have two reports that seem legitimate. However, no visual proof from any authorities. No pictures. No videos.”

“We will continue to treat this as a serious matter unless confirmed otherwise for [the] safety of the residents in the area.”

The service also issued a checklist for how citizens should respond if they encounter the creature:

Do not approach, chase or try and catch a primate if you have sighted said loose monkey.

Take a picture and call animal control ASAP. The picture is to verify what type of monkey this is. Knowing the type will keep this monkey safe if it needs to be tranquilised.

Do not go searching for the monkey. Extra people looking for this animal is going to cause a risk of someone getting hurt.

A team that is certified in dealing with primates is on the ground now helping us locate the animal. Do not interfere. Do not attempt to help. They are professionals and know what they are doing.

Please do not call animal control or the police station with false statements you yourself are unable to verify. This is not helpful to the authorities or to the animal.