A search for free-range chickens in El Centro has apparently ended.

For several months, El Centro Animal Control and Police officers have been searching for chickens that have been reported roaming in the 1200 block of Pepper Drive. The chickens eluded all efforts to capture them, and officers were unable to identify where they were roosting. At about 9:24 a.m. Thursday, three chickens were finally corralled. The three birds were taken to the El Centro City Pound but one of the feathered fowl was able to flee and was last seen flying away from the pound.