Tortoise Reunited With Owners Weeks After Tornado

Myrtle, a pet tortoise, has been reunited with her family in Kokomo, Mississippi, weeks after she disappeared during a tornado outbreak. Tiffany Emanuel, Myrtle's owner, expressed relief and commitment to nursing Myrtle back to health. "He's been through a lot," she said. The family fled when a tornado hit on March 15, the AP reports. They returned to find that two pine trees had fallen on the tortoise's backyard home—and he was nowhere to be seen. Myrtle was found weeks later by a neighbor, who took the the tortoise to Central Mississippi Turtle Rescue to be treated for injuries.

On April 6, the group asked its followers for help finding the owners of the "tornado tortoise," the Guardian reports. Christy Milbourne, founder and co-director of the rescue, received a call from the neighbor about Myrtle's discovery. "The lady who found the tortoise called me and she said she had run into the owners," she said. "She said, 'I think they're going to be calling you.' So, I was excited, and then the owners did call and say, 'Yeah, that's my tortoise.'" After the reunion, the rescue posted: "He's got some injuries to overcome, but he's at least back in the arms of his family. They missed him so much and are so relieved and grateful to have him back" (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)