My first day of school went well...oh, and there's a snake on the loose in my house right now, (yawn)

This is a funny story. Yesterday, Susy came over to my house to study with me, and saw a snake (about 12-16 in. long) in my front yard, so we decided to catch it for the kids to see. The fix-it guy across the street helped us get it into a container. So, we taped this wire mesh colandar to the top of a glass bowl, and he was in there with a little water, he could breath just fine. He kept snapping at us up against the glass. He was a very intelligent creature. We looked him up on the internet, he is from the rat snake family of snakes. He is non-venemous because of his round pupil (not like a cats) and his markings. So, the kids came home and they looked at him all afternoon. Jr. took him and showed him off at scouts last night. I was doing homework, while Jared put the kids to bed, so I didn't know what happened to him from there. Well, I get a tap on the shoulder at 2am. It was Jr. telling me that they had put the snake in a bigger container (a plastic tote with snap on lid), and that he wasn't in there anymore. So I wake up Jared (Sr.), and we go down there to try to find him. We searched EVERYWHERE for about an hour, but couldn't see him anywhere, so we finally gave up. I had to pray my way back to sleep. Jared had to go to work this morning. I don't know what to do now, but one thing is for sure: I am now convinced that having a house full of boys is going to be the end of me.
Any suggestions?