ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – A 5-year-old African Sulcata tortoise that had gone missing has been reunited with her family.
Melanie Cranford, of Ormond Beach, said the tortoise escaped from her homemade pen in the family's front yard on Sunday. She took to social media, pleading for the reptile's return.
"She's the same age as my son. They've grown up together," Cranford said.
Cranford said she got the tortoise when it was 12 days old and named it Picabo, after the Olympian ski racer, Picabo Street.
Surveillance video showed Picabo walking around the yard before she wandered out of view. Cranford said she saw a white Kia Soul drive back and forth in the video and she believed the car could be involved in Picabo's disappearance.
"I don't want to press any charges or nothing. I just want my tortoise back, please," she said.
Cranford said Tuesday evening, after a News 6 report on the disappearance aired, that the owner of the Kia Soul contacted her and said she took the tortoise because she was afraid it would get run over since it was near the road. The woman said she planned to post online looking for the owner.
Picabo was reunited with her family Tuesday evening.