The case of the missing nine-foot boa constrictor in Corner Brook, N.L., came to a curious end Saturday night when the 70 pound, red-tailed reptile was returned to its owner.

Venus was found in a dark basement in a duffel bag and is now recovering from her ordeal with the help of a heating pad.

Alan Garrard told CBC News Sunday that he was contacted through Facebook by someone who claimed to be in possession of the snake and wanted to see it returned.

Venus was taken last week during a break-in at Wild World, a new pet store in Corner Brook, along with feeding supplies and hundreds of dollars in donations.

Owners of the Wild World pet store in Corner Brook took to Facebook Saturday night to share that Venus had been found. (Wild World/Facebook)

"I said, 'Let's go get [Venus] right now, where are you?'"

Garrard said he was given directions to a home where the snake was being held.

"I kept them on my speakerphone and drove right to their door ... pulled up, left my car running outside, went in, [and was told] it's in the basement."

It was like something out of a scary movie. - Alan Garrard , snake owner

Garrard said, at that point, he regretted not calling police before pursuing the lead on his own. Nevertheless, he ventured inside.

"The basement [entrance] was a trap door — it was like something out of a scary movie," he said, laughing.

"There [the snake] is in the dark in a duffel bag, and they just wanted it out of the house. I said, 'That's fine, thank you very much and goodbye.'"

That's when Garrard called police. He later shared news of Venus's return on the Wild World Facebook page.

Garrard said the individual who contacted him likely wasn't the culprit, but rather initiated the return on their behalf.

He was told the thief initially planned to dispose of the reptile, but the anonymous source didn't want that to happen.

Police investigation

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary confirmed to CBC News Sunday that the snake was discovered in a local residence.

According to an RNC spokesperson, the home owner was "instrumental" in the snake's recovery.

While no charges have been laid in the matter, police said future charges may be pending.

On Saturday, police said the RNC had received many calls about the stolen snake from concerned residents in the area. None of those calls, however, resulted in the snake's return.

RNC said that the investigation into the matter is ongoing. Anyone with further information on the theft is asked to contact the RNC or Crime Stoppers.

'She's doing a lot better'

Garrard was told that Venus had been left outside for 24 hours. He said she's slowly getting her appetite back.

"She's good, we've got her in a container right now to bring up her body temperature on a heat pad. She'd doing a lot better."

Despite the snake-napping ordeal, Garrard said he isn't deterred from opening his new business.

"I'm not going to have a couple of people destroy it for everybody, this needs to happen. Corner Brook doesn't really have a lot of services here and I find the people of Corner Brook to be amazing."