HIBBING (AP) - Authorities say a Minnesota trooper had to shoot and kill a wayward horse that couldn't be moved away from near a busy highway.

The Minnesota State Patrol says the animal was reported near Minnesota Highway 73 south of Hibbing on Sunday about 10:15 a.m. A state trooper and several passers-by tried in vain to capture it and move it off the road.

Patrol spokesman Eric Roeske says no one could identify to whom the horse belonged. He says it was in poor shape, suggesting it may have been loose for some time.

Efforts to capture it continued for more than two hours. After several close calls where vehicles nearly struck the horse, the trooper decided to shoot and kill it.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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