Stolen Monkeys from Dallas Zoo Found in Closet of Abandoned Home

The two monkeys who went missing this week from the Dallas Zoo have been found ... cops say they were left in the closet of an abandoned home.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... the emperor tamarin monkeys were found Tuesday afternoon at a home in Lancaster, Texas, and the animals have been returned to the zoo.

We're told Dallas Police received a tip the monkeys were possibly at an abandoned home in Lancaster ... with cops from Dallas and Lancaster following up on the tip and finding the monkeys in one of the empty home's closets.

As we reported ... the zoo notified Dallas PD Monday a couple of their emperor tamarin monkeys were missing from their habitats ... with the zoo also claiming there was evidence the monkeys were taken.

Cops put out an alert earlier Tuesday, saying they wanted to speak with a man who was spotted munching on a bag of chips at the zoo around the same time the monkeys vanished.

The Dallas Zoo issued a statement after the monkeys were found, saying they are "thrilled beyond belief" the animals were located. The zoo says the monkeys will be evaluated by veterinarians.