A donkey that was on the loose in the Woodstock area met an untimely end Tuesday, its owner said.

Dominic, a donkey who resided on a Bull Valley farm but escaped Sunday, was hit by a train Tuesday evening and died, his owner Barry Naber said Wednesday.

Spokespersons for both Metra and Union Pacific said they were unaware of any of their trains having been involved.

Naber said he got the message from someone Tuesday evening that Dominic had been hit by a train and passed. He said it was a firsthand account from a trusted person.

“It’s all over the place now,” Naber said about reports of Dominic’s passing.

The donkey escaped from Naber’s Bull Valley farm while getting his hooves done. Naber said the donkey’s trainer was there and had brought their kids and they were trying to corral Dominic.

“He went right through the fence,” Naber said.

Naber spent all Sunday, Monday and Tuesday searching for Dominic, who he said was named after the Italian Christmas Donkey.

He said he was “shocked” Dominic had made it to Woodstock so quickly, and he searched the town Sunday. Among the places he went to included the Woodstock Metra station. He said he walked about a mile and a half down the tracks, but advised not doing that because it’s hard to know if a train is coming.

On Monday, Naber hired a drone company to help locate Dominic but there were no sightings of the donkey. Operation Wild Horse also reached out and helped with the search, Naber said.

Naber said he was told around 5 p.m. Monday that Dominic had been spotted in a field. He searched the field until about 9 p.m. Monday, but the donkey had not been seen.

Two men on UTVs searched the same field Tuesday, Naber said, but Dominic was not there. He said he got a lot of reports from people saying to check various locations.

And then he got the message late Tuesday that Dominic had passed on.

It has been a difficult winter for the farm. Dominic, who was 6, lost his mate Duchess during a cold snap about two months ago, Naber said. The veterinarian thought Duchess died of colic or a heart attack.

Naber said Dominic and his mate came from the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada and were wild when he got them.

Naber moved to his Bull Valley farm around seven years ago, and said the donkeys were well taken care of. He said the farm had a coyote problem and the donkeys helped take care of it. He said he built them a $90,000 barn but the donkeys didn’t want to go inside.

Naber said people have posted unkind things about the donkey. He said he has gotten “nasty and threatening things” on social media.

Bull Valley Police Chief Tracy Dickens confirmed Tuesday the donkey escaped from a Bull Valley residence. Dickens added the owner hasn’t requested an official police report.

Woodstock Police Chief John Lieb said he believed it was Sunday when his police department was “advised of the unrestrained donkey.” Lieb added Animal Control was notified.

Lieb said he wasn’t sure if any Woodstock police officers actually saw the donkey, but the department was aware of social media posts about the loose donkey.

McHenry County Department of Health spokesperson Nick Kubiak had said Tuesday that county Animal Control was aware of the loose donkey, adding the animal’s owners were “working with a private citizen to track the donkey’s whereabouts.”