Mystery monkey eludes capture in apartment building

A small monkey that was spotted roaming the halls of an apartment building in Qingdao, Shandong Province continues to elude police after it disappeared from a rooftop supply room where it was thought to have been trapped.

A resident of Building 6 of the Pacific Center Community in Shinan district told property managers that he discovered the loitering primate after he heard a noise outside his door early in the morning on September 1.

"A monkey was just standing at my door and seemed hungry, so I gave it an apple," said the 26th floor resident, reported local news portal bandao.cn.

Police called in local zoo employees after they lured the elusive monkey into an unused room on the roof and shut the door. However to the zoo workers arrived, the monkey had pulled a Houdini and was nowhere to be seen.

Property management employees later said the monkey possibly belongs to a local resident and will continue the search for the monkey and its owner. The city's local forestry bureau denied issuing any permits for keeping pet monkeys, said the report.