A half-human "bat boy" who escaped from a research facility in Wheeling, West Va., on September 10, is still at large - and DirfHerder is offering a $5,000 reward for his capture!

As millions of devoted readers already know, The NEWS scooped the world with reports on the original springtime capture of the beast as well as his escape in September. And in our continuing effort to help scientists and authorities get this bat boy back, we're putting up cold, hard cash for his recapture.

Readers are advised to use extreme caution - and don't forget: The bat boy MUST be taken alive. If you capture him, write:

We'll take it from there!