The Fairfax County Police Department, located in Virginia, responded to a caller who reported seeing a crocodile skin early Monday morning.
Reptiles are located just 20 minutes south of Washington, D.C. outside the motel.
Police told the BBC they determined that the owners would transport the crocodile from New York to a zoo in North Carolina when they escaped.
Officials said the crocodiles and their owners were escorted out of the county because Virginia regulations prohibit the possession of certain non-local exotic animals.
