Libby Martin often gazes into the back yard of her Garden City home to spot the deer and groundhogs that live nearby.

But what she saw Sunday while chatting on the phone with a friend was too far up a tree to be a groundhog, she remembers thinking.

Then, it turned its head.

Oops was gazing at her.

Martin ended her call abruptly and placed the 911 call that led to the capture of the Japanese macaque who escaped Mill Mountain Zoo a week earlier.

The catch caps a week of searching and worrying about Oops, who slipped out of an unlocked door while her cage was being cleaned July 2.

Before her capture Sunday, zoo officials were feeling a "real deep sense of frustration," said David Jobe, education curator at the zoo. The sightings behind Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital last week turned out to be groundhogs, and staffers were wondering if Oops was OK.

So when the call came about 1:30 p.m. Sunday that the macaque had been spotted about a mile south of the zoo, officials were hopeful.

Michaela Pace-Wilson, zoo administration manager, arrived at Martin's house on Estates Road and called to Oops. The 20-pound 11-year-old dropped down from the tree.

"It was a rush," Pace-Wilson said.

Pace-Wilson threw Oops some apples, which the macaque ate before moving away, over a hill toward a creek.

Zoo staff and animal control officers followed her through the woods and after about two hours cornered her up a tree about 30 yards from the Fishburn Parkway Spur.

Staffers tried to encourage Oops to climb down by calling her name and offering her food. But she wouldn't budge.

"She was locked tight in that tree," said Bill Poage, the zoo's consulting veterinarian.

After about 45 minutes, the staff decided it was time for the tranquilizer gun.

Using a ladder provided by the Roanoke Fire Department, Poage climbed to within 30 feet of the monkey.

His first shot at Oops was on the mark. Oops pulled the dart out, then climbed up and down the tree, agitated by the tranquilizer.

Five minutes later, she fell asleep, Poage said. Her arm, which had gotten caught in a tree branch, kept her from falling 30 feet to the ground.

As 10 others stood below with nets, Poage used a shorter ladder to retrieve Oops.

Back on the ground, she was examined, placed in an animal carrier and taken home.

Oops appeared to be in good health, Poage said. She will be quarantined for about 30 days or until it is determined that she did not contract any diseases while on the loose, Poage said.

"I am extremely relieved right now because not only did we find her, but it looks like we had a successful capture," said Sean Greene, director of the zoo. "I can actually sleep tonight."

Greene said he would personally thank Libby Martin and her husband, Monte, and recognize their help with something like a zoo membership or a toy macaque.