FOSTER - He spent his youth in a traveling side show and his teen years being fed beer and cigarettes at a country bar.
In young adulthood, his girlfriend, Suzi, died in a house fire.
Now at 25, Sam the chimp is incommunicado.
Once a living landmark at the Train Stop Inn, a riverside tavern in southern Warren County, the 4-foot, 140-pound chimpanzee is being pushed out by progress.
His cage is being razed to make way for public restrooms along the Little Miami bike trail in Hamilton Township. But his owner, Kenny Harris, is staying mum on the monkey's whereabouts.
''He's in good hands,'' Mr. Harris said. ''I'm not telling people where he is. I don't think it's none of their business.''
The 64-year-old bar owner - who won a lawsuit over Sam's custody a decade ago - laughs at the continuing controversy over the chimp.
He'll concede only that he had to move Sam because Hamilton Township owns the property of the chimp's concrete compound and plans to make it a park.
''I don't know where Sam is,'' township Trustee Jim Raussen said. ''We don't want to run anyone out of business. We just want to beautify the area.''
Mr. Harris feeds discussions with tongue-in-cheek answers. Sam's on vacation, he says. People want to buy him. Perhaps he'll return when it gets warm, he adds.
''I've never seen Sam,'' said Robbie Oglesby, 27, of Hamilton, who stopped at the bar last week. ''He's golfing in Florida, that's what he told us.''
The last time longtime neighbor Litty Cornett remembers seeing Sam was around Thanksgiving.
Life isn't the same without the little hairy guy, she said.
''Everybody loves Sam,'' she said, recalling his affection for peanut butter sandwiches, apples and watermelon. ''He ate everything.''
Said Mr. Harris: ''A lot of people wonder where Sam's at and say that he's dead. I just think it's a rumor. He'll be coming back. I'm almost sure.''
