Obed Kameta bought goats before from the same seller he transacted with on Monday morning, but this was the first time the sale was not made at the seller’s house.

It was also the first time a goat he bought bolted and ran around at least three cities in the Birmingham metro area, including Mountain Brook and Irondale, evading concerned residents and law enforcement.

“When I met him, we made the transaction and I put [the goat] into my truck,” the 31-year-old truck driver from Calera told AL.com in a phone interview Friday night.

“The truck’s driver’s side window was open. As I went to go tie him up and put him on a leash … that’s how he escaped.”

It’s been four days and counting since Billy the goat, who Kameta bought for $300, has been on the lam.

Billy has been corralled twice, but has broken free both times.

Kameta, who has five other goats and plans on using Billy for milk and to graze on 40 to 60 acres of farmland he intends to purchase, chased his newest goat for more than three hours on Monday.

About 30 to 45 minutes into the pursuit, in the 800 block of Montclair Road, officers from Birmingham and Mountain Brook joined Kameta.

“We couldn’t manage to catch him that day,” he said.

The Calera resident tried again on Tuesday to search for Billy.

“I had no luck,” he said.

On Thursday, there was hope.

An animal control agency — Kameta was unsure with which jurisdiction — called him around 2 p.m. The goat was captured in Irondale, he was told.

“But as I was driving there, 10-15 minutes before I get there, the animal control [officer] calls me back and tells me someone else has came and got the goat and they gave it to the wrong person,” he said.

Kameta got the address of the woman who was handed the goat, but when he arrived at her home, she told him Billy had escaped.

“Me and her, we went out in the woods and we walked around a little bit,” he said. “But we had no luck finding the goat.”

Later on Thursday, the goat was again taken into custody but slipped away, according to Reese Goode, who has been among the residents searching for Billy.

“Someone was using a drone to assist. [Billy] was transported nearby to hangout with some other goats but we just heard he’s escaped again. Likely roaming in between the areas of Crestline Park / Crestwood,” Goode said Thursday night.

There have been numerous Billy sightings since then around Mountain Brook, Irondale and Birmingham, but he has yet to be hauled in for good.

For Kameta, the search renews again tomorrow.

“I just want the goat to come back home safe,” he said.