Weeks after being uprooted from its Mississippi home during a catastrophic tornado outbreak, a tortoise has finally been reunited with its family.
When a tornado struck on March 15, Tiffany Emanuel and her family were forced to evacuate their home in rural Kokomo.
When they returned, they discovered that their tortoise, Myrtle, was nowhere to be seen and that two pine trees had fallen on top of his backyard habitat.
On March 14 and 15, 18 tornadoes were recorded in the region. According to reports, the outbreak killed seven people and injured hundreds more.
However, a neighbor discovered the missing animal on April 4, which local media sites were referring to as the “tornado tortoise.”
A Facebook post at the time stated that he was “likely displaced by the recent storms in Tylertown” and “in immediate need of medical care for a severe injury he sustained.” He was taken to the Central Mississippi Turtle Rescue.
By April 6, they informed their Facebook fans that Myrtle was in the hospital and that they would be requesting that the person who had reported him provide a “very unique detail” before he was released.
The reunion between Myrtle and Emanuel was imminent. Christy Milbourne, the founder and co-director of Central Mississippi Turtle Rescue, said, “The woman who discovered the tortoise called me and said she had met the owners.”
“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,'” Milbourne recalled.
When the charity announced on Facebook on April 7 that Myrtle’s family had been located and “he’s been reunited,” they called it the “happiest update.”
“And we found out that he was indeed a victim of the recent tornado there. He was either blown by the winds or he walked out after the storm took out their fence,” according to the organization.
“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,” their update added.
Myrtle is currently being nursed back to health by Emanuel. Emanuel said, “It feels good to kind of have some kind of happy out of so much sad and grief and loss.”
