A lizard sighted at the high school football stadium last week apparently remains at large — both figuratively and literally — after eluding capture by Powell Police.

On Aug. 24, around 3:19 p.m., police received a report of a big lizard at Panther Stadium, north of the old Powell High School gym. Officer Chad Miner and Detective Dave Brown responded to find a reptile sunning itself on the bleachers.

“It was a little monitor lizard,” said Brown. “Actually, I probably shouldn't say little.”

By his estimation, the creature measured between 2.5 feet and 3 feet long from snout to tail tip. In appearance, the monitor lizard looked a bit like a miniature Komodo dragon, Brown said.

Attempts to apprehend the animal were unsuccessful.

“We tried to get it, but it would take off (when police approached),” said Brown.

Monitor lizards — found naturally in the Eastern Hemisphere — typically avoid confrontations and try to flee, according to the American Federation of Herpetoculturists. (Herpetology is the study of reptiles and amphibians.)

The lizards can cause injuries by scratching with their claws, whipping their tails or biting.

Brown guessed the creature was a pet that either escaped from its owner or was released after growing too big.

However, he said no one has reported a missing lizard, and it was not a class pet at nearby Powell Middle School.

The police department has dealt with porcupines, snakes, an in-town badger and a treed mountain lion earlier this year, but Brown said the escapee lizard was a first.

“If anybody sees something with four legs and a long tail that looks like a lizard — call us,” he joked.