Talk about starting the New Year with a bang—or should we say a moo? On January 1, the Oregon State Police were called to handle an utterly udderly bizarre situation: a rogue cow hoofing it down Interstate 84 near Hood River.
This wasn’t your average backyard escapee. The star of this adventure was a 4-H steer with a flair for the dramatic. Days earlier, the bovine Houdini had made a daring escape from a Washington property, clearing not just one but two fences—first a 5-foot barrier and then a 3-foot barbed wire obstacle. Clearly, this cow had dreams of freedom.
After days of evading capture, the steer decided to up the ante on New Year’s Day by taking a brisk dip in the Columbia River. Because, why not? Anglers along the riverbanks were stunned to see the aquatic adventurer emerge from the water and head straight for the freeway.
Travelers quickly turned into cowboys and cowgirls, trying to corral the rebellious bovine before it made it to the freeway. But this steer wasn’t ready to settle down—it leaped across the median like an Olympic athlete and bolted into the eastbound lane of I-84. Chaos ensued as troopers and Hood River police teamed up to wrangle the renegade steer and keep traffic moo-ving safely.
But this cow wasn’t done yet. It veered off the highway and made its way toward nearby railroad tracks, giving new meaning to the phrase "off the rails."
For several miles, the steer strutted along the tracks like it was auditioning for a train heist. It even trotted through a tunnel (cue dramatic music). Just when it seemed like this cow had outsmarted everyone, a local hero appeared. A young woman, channeling her inner cow whisperer, calmly stepped in front of the steer on the tracks. The exhausted cow stopped in its tracks—literally—and finally gave up the fight, collapsing like a drama queen at the end of a soap opera.
With the excitement over, the steer was loaded into a horse trailer and taken to a nearby property to rest its weary hooves while awaiting a reunion with its owners. And while the cow’s wild escapade had everyone on high alert, we’re guessing it made one New Year’s resolution crystal clear: never underestimate the power of a determined bovine.
As for the cow? We hope it enjoys a well-deserved nap and maybe rethinks its next great escape.
