A bull escaped from Barnyard Days at Phillipsburg High School early this morning, strolled past the boat ramp and swam across the river to Easton, where police last saw him roaming on College Hill.

Phillipsburg police Capt. Ken Decker said a resident of the 100 block of Summit Avenue first saw the bull about 12:45 this morning on Schafer Avenue. Suspecting it was a Barnyard Days animal, police headed to Phillipsburg High School and awoke Greg Babbitt, a Phillipsburg teacher and an FFA advisor, who was sleeping in his truck near the animals.

Babbitt and a few students tried to help police corral the bull, but it had other ideas and headed toward Union Square, jumped a barrier, went north on Main Street and headed for the river. It began raining heavily, so the group had to call off the search as the bull headed for Easton.Easton police said officers tried to catch the bull near the Wawa on Cattell Street, but he jumped over a 4-foot fence and headed back toward the Delaware River. There have been no reported sightings since about 4 o'clock this morning.

The 9-month-old bull does not have a name, only a tag number, Babbitt said. He would not release the owner's name, but said the bull was going to be raised as beef cattle. Babbitt thinks the bull was scared by the thunder and lightning in Wednesday night's storm and got out of the pen. The pen had a 5-foot-high fence, and Babbitt said there was no sign anyone had tampered with it.

Babbitt has been checking in with dispatch centers in Northampton and Warren counties and suggests people call dispatch if they spot the bull. A replacement bull has been brought to the high school for the remainder of Barnyard Days.

According to the New York Daily news, a 500-pound cow escaped from a slaughterhouse in Queens on Wednesday, leading lasso-toting police officers and a butcher on a chase through South Jamaica.