MISSING ELEPHANT FOUND IN GERMANY

BERLIN -- A man accused of kidnapping an elephant has surrendered after a nationwide hunt turned up his five-ton hostage.

Austrian customs chief inspector Rudolf Tomek said Seila, a 24-year-old Asian elephant, had been found alive and well with two other pachyderms in a heated warehouse in suburb of Berlin.

The director of an Austrian circus is alleged to have vanished with Seila and her friends two weeks prior, following Tomek's investigations into the elephant's illegal ownership.

Despite her lack of legal paperwork, Seila was able to travel across the border unhindered due to the abolition of boundary checks between the two countries, both members of the European Union.

The two legally-owned elephants went along to keep Seila company, said the circus director.