WATCH ABOVE: A couple of Strathcona County peace officers got more than they bargained for when they answered a call for a turtle on the road.
EDMONTON – A strange sight was in store for Strathcona County peace officers Evan Brown and Cody Rossing on Monday.
A concerned motorist called the RCMP to report a turtle on Township Road 521 near Highway 21.
When they arrived, they got a bit more ‘turtle’ than they were expecting.
“We arrived on scene expecting to see a small household turtle, but when we did arrive, we saw an 80-pound tortoise walking down Township Road 521” said Brown.
“It was a shock at the beginning; I wasn’t really too sure what to do. In my experience, I’ve never dealt with a turtle or a tortoise, so it was just kind of one of those adapt and overcome the situation kind of things,” said Rossing.
“It wasn’t going anywhere at any high rate of speed, that’s for sure.”
“We watched the turtle for a little bit, walked down the road while we tried to make up a game plan on what we were going to do. Eventually, both myself and Officer Brown were able to pick the tortoise up. We placed it in the back seat of out patrol vehicle. We then made a phone call to the Edmonton Humane Society to make sure that they had the capability of taking care of this tortoise,” said Brown.
The photograph below was taken by the motorists who had called for help and stayed on scene until officers arrived to ensure that the tortoise would be safe.
Once Brown and Rossing got the okay, they decided to drive the tortoise to the Humane Society on their own.
“The tortoise was in the back seat, it wasn’t big enough that it couldn’t move, so it was moving around a bit there and a couple times, it actually got tangled up in the seatbelt, so we were reaching through the divider in the back to free it from the seatbelt on the way to Edmonton,” said Brown.
Once they were sure the tortoise was in good care, the officers took to social media in order to have someone come forward with information.
They were able to find the tortoise’s owner as well as find out his name: Tucker the tortoise.
Tucker will be reunited with his owners soon.
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