WALTERVILLE - Maybe Xander knew Willow was on her way? Maybe he knew he would be battling his new baby sister for attention?

Maybe he hopped off to meet the Easter Bunny? And what in the world is a wandering, wayward wallaby anyway? And which way did he go?

So many questions. And so few answers to the mystery of Xander’s disappearance six days ago from the 13-acre farm on Camp Creek Road, where his owners, John and Barbara Theus, operate the McKenzie Valley Bamboo nursery.

The Theuses left Xander, a 45-pound, 16-month-old wallaby, alone in his pen on Thursday between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. That’s the day they drove to Redmond to buy their second wallaby, 3-week-old Willow, who never got to meet her new brother.

The couple is offering a $1,000 reward if anyone finds Xander and brings him home.

And in case you didn’t know, or forgot, a wallaby is a miniature kangaroo native to Australia and New Zealand. And, yes, they do hop, so you would probably know whether you witnessed a wallaby wherever you, yourself, wander - whether that’s here in Walterville or way over in Walton. And if you don’t think a wallaby could make it from Walterville to Walton, just west of Noti, in six days, then you don’t know diddly squat about wallabies. They can sprint up to 40 mph, according to the Theuses.

That means Xander not only could have made it to Walton by now, but maybe even to Florence. Or beyond.

"We can’t figure out what would have happened," said Barbara Theus, who moved to Walterville from Portland with her husband in July 2004 to relocate their nursery.

The couple reported Xander missing to the Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Lane County Animal Control on Thursday, and searched their property and the surrounding area before giving up late Saturday.

They think it’s unlikely that someone stole the marsupial who, although a little shy, would often hop over and let visitors pet him.

"He’s afraid of vehicles, so it’s not likely he went to the road," John Theus said. The most likely scenario, the Theuses believe, is that Xander hopped over the 3-foot-high fence of his pen, although they had never seen him do that, and hightailed it up a little ridge behind their house to the Walterville Canal. Although wallabies can swim, they think it’s unlikely he’d jump into the slow-moving canal.

However, Eugene Water and Electric Board workers at the Walterville Power Station just west of the Theuses’ spread, say deer have been known to fall into the canal. Once there, they often drown as they’re swept into the power station’s screens that sit in the water to keep logs and debris from sweeping down the waterway.

"We’ve told them, even though it would be sad, please tell us if you find him (in the canal)," said Barbara.