‘Escape artist' pet tortoise reunited with owner 3 years after escaping Florida home

A runaway tortoise that went missing more than three years ago was found crossing a busy road in Florida.

The African Sulcata tortoise was found near the town of Interlachen on Saturday after officers came across an "unusual-looking" tortoise crossing a state road, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said.

"Clearly you ain't from here," the Putnam County Sheriff's Office wrote on a Facebook post. "He is definitely someone’s tortoise as he likes people and head pats."

The deputies then called Florida’s Wildest Animal Refuge, which took in the tortoise as they searched for its owner.

Wildlife experts told the sheriff's office that African Sulcatas are known to be "escape artists" renowned for digging out of their enclosures.

But little did they know that it would only take 24 hours for social media to find the tortoise's owner, after followers started sending pictures of a missing turtle dating to April 2020.

"One of our followers sent us a post from April 2020 of a tortoise that looked similar, that went missing from the same area," the refuge wrote on Facebook.

And after talking to a friend of the tortoise owner, turned out the tortoise had been missing since April 2020, after she escaped from the front yard of her home 5 miles away from where it was found.

Florida's Wildest Animal Rescue

"A truly unbelievable story, it just goes to show you to never give up hope," the shelter wrote on Facebook.

The sheriff's office and animal rescue were later able to reunite the owner with her tortoise.

The shelter added the tortoise "is in a little bit of rough shape" from spending so many cold winters outside but she will be okay.