Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 26/01) - A black kingsnake named Nisha escaped from its owner's moccasin in the David H. Searle building on 49th Street a week ago.

Chief coroner Percy Kinney: "I hope they find that snake safe and sound and get it the hell out of here."

And the metre-long creature's been on the loose ever since.

Criminal defence and family lawyer Margot Engley brought Nisha to work to keep her company while she burned the midnight oil one night last week.

As far as she knew, Nisha -- the name means "evening" -- was sleeping soundly in a moccasin. But when she looked up around midnight, he had up and disappeared. She searched for him until 3 a.m.

"I haven't seen it since, but he's gone missing before," she said. "He usually turns up."

Nisha likes warm, closed-in spots, like the moccasin. "He could be in a million places, I guess," she said. "I keep checking all the couches."

The morning after its escape, Engley told her colleagues, individually. "I had to tell them because I didn't want them to be scared if they came across it," she said.

That day, people spent a lot of time peering under their desks. They've calmed down now, even though Nisha's probably still in the building.

After all, Nisha's just a little snake and isn't dangerous.

But it's still creeping out chief coroner Percy Kinney, who works in the building.

Kinney's not exactly fond of snakes -- let's just say they aren't his pet of choice.

"He hasn't got me yet," joked the coroner, who works on the first floor. "Close to the door," he added. "Hopefully, he stays on the third floor -- hopefully, he's not afraid of heights."

But why is someone who spends so much time with dead bodies afraid of a little snake?

"Dead bodies won't hurt you," said Kinney. "I don't know what snakes will do and I don't want to find out."

If the escaped snake is never recovered, will Engley replace him?

"Yeah, but not right away," she said. "I spent a lot of money to set up his cage."

If he is caught, she won't bring it back to work.

That's good news for Kinney. "I hope they find that snake safe and sound and get it the hell out of here," he said.