INTERLACHEN, Fla. — A tortoise that has been missing since 2020 has now been returned to its rightful owner after Florida deputies came across the unusual-looking reptile over the weekend.
The Putnam County Sheriff's Office posted on Facebook when deputies found the tortoise trying to cross State Road 20 in Interlachen.
According to the agency, the African Sulcata is native to the southern edge of the Sahara Desert.
Wildlife experts with Florida's Wildest Animal Refgues, who were able to take the tortoise in, explain these reptiles are known as "escape artists." They can allegedly dig out of their enclosures.
After the sheriff's office posted to social media asking if anyone was looking for their pet, who liked people and head pats, the owner came forward.
"Owner found!" the agency wrote on Facebook. "This really was an escape artist."
According to the owner, the tortoise went missing back in 2020. With all the shares the post received, the owner reached out with her own posts from when the reptile first went missing.
Deputies say the tortoise was actually found not too far away from where it originally went missing.
"With a few cold winters, she’s in a little rough shape," the agency explains online.