Yep, don't you just love people whose size judgement goes out the window when they see a snake?

My story - When we lived in El Paso, TX (and believe me we are GLAD to be out) where my mother still lives, I got a call one weekend morning from said mother. Now, let it be known that my mom does know about snakes. She may not be a huge fan, but she knows harmless from venomous. So when I hear her shrieking at me that she caught a snake in her kitchen with 'brown coloring and a diamond like pattern' I was certainly curious. So I go over to her apartment and my nervous mother points to the tall garbage can. I look in... and find a thoroughly panicked Texas Rat snake trying like mad to get out. Turns out, mom saw this little guy (about thumb thickness, so a youngster) on her windowsill and only registered the color and pattern.
I picked the poor little guy up and showed him to her, at which point she stated that she felt like an idiot. I said 'Hey, it's an honest mistake for a quick glance in the morning. At least you didn't tell me it was 10 feet long.' I took the snake to some herper friends of mine who said they would see if he would eat in captivity (to test if he was wild or not, as apparently wild rat snakes are very picky eaters) and if not they would release it into a good spot near the mountains.

That's my favorite story, but as the 'Snake Lady' in every apartment complex I've lived in (including those in Denver) I have been called to snake and lizard sightings where the claims were pretty wild.