News flash: Mr. Bo is missing.

Or at least truant.

Slithered into oblivion. Or maybe the media center.

At any rate, the 3-foot ball python’s disappearance from his cage in one of East High School’s biology classrooms on Tuesday prompted school officials to notify parents by e-mail on Thursday.

“I regret to inform you that a valuable Ball Snake named Mr. Bo was discovered to not be in his cage,” wrote Associate Principal Dennis Mann.

The biology teacher found the cage lid open, but wasn’t able to tell if Mr. Bo got out on his own or if he had some help.

However, Mann said in his e-mail, had the snake gotten out on his own, Mr. Bo would probably still be in the room, which he doesn’t appear to be.

“A thorough search was performed and the snake was not found,” the e-mail said.

Mann said Mr. Bo may be worth as much as a couple hundred dollars, and both the teacher and school officials would very much like to get him back.

John Chapo, Lincoln Children’s Zoo director, agreed with Mann on a few important facts: Ball pythons  are venomless, docile and nonaggressive. They’re called ball pythons because, when threatened, they roll up into tight balls. They don’t grow to more than about 4 feet long.

Chapo said Mr. Bo’s disappearance is the reason he doesn’t recommend snakes as pets.

“They’re extremely docile and passive, but as you have discovered, one of the biggest problems is they are escape artists. And that can be problematic for the animal and the people who share the space with the animal.”

Frankly, though, Chapo’s more worried about the snake, which is used to tropical climates and will be looking for a warm place.

And he could be hiding anywhere — just beyond a ceiling tile, in a crack in the wall, a duct.

One clue to his whereabouts could be fecal matter — as in, snake poop — since he’d just dined on a rat before he disappeared, Chapo said.

One place he almost surely won’t be:  hanging with the general student population.

“As you’re changing classes, he will not be going down the hallway,” Chapo said.

Reach Margaret Reist at 473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com .