Autrey Mill Nature Preserve Turtles Returned Safely

JOHNS CREEK, GA — The five box turtles taken from the Autrey Mill Nature Preserve recently have been returned, the organization said Tuesday night.

"Our box turtles have been returned!! A big thank you to Detective Bucki and the Johns Creek Police Department and the community for your calls of concern and help getting our Animal Ambassadors home," Autrey Mill posted on its Facebook page.

Johns Creek Det. Ryan Bucki said he, "was able to recover all five safe and sound from the offenders."

On Oct. 5, Johns Creek detectives conducted multiple interviews with the young men identified in the video footage from the Autrey Mill Nature Preserve. Detectives were contacted by a Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officer who provided the names of the people after seeing the video surveillance footage on the news. Detectives confirmed these teens were responsible for the theft of the turtles.

The turtles were found in good health, along with multiple other box turtles from unknown locations, police said.

"Since the turtles were located in good health and returned safely to their habitat, no prosecution will be pursued in this case for the juveniles at the request of Autrey Mill Nature Preserve," Johns Creek Police said on its Facebook page. "The parents of these juveniles are cooperatively working with the Autrey Mill Nature Preserve to educate the parties involved of the risks in their actions."

PETA offered a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the safe return of the turtles — and to the kidnappers' conviction on criminal charges.

The three suspects, whom police believe to be young men, were caught on surveillance footage removing the turtles from their enclosure and placing them in a bucket on Sept. 19.

Autrey Mill Program Manager Chloe Green said the turtles' names are Who, What, Where, Why, and Trey, who has three legs, and that they are part of the Autrey Mill family.

"Turtles know their 'home range' and will suffer every day that they're separated from the home and caretakers that they know," PETA Senior Director of Cruelty Casework Stephanie Bell said. "PETA is asking anyone who recognizes these suspects to come forward immediately so that these turtles can be safely returned home."

These animals have lived in captivity for so long that they will not survive if they were released into the wild, Green said.

"They will not know how to forage for themselves or protect themselves," Green said. "They are ambassadors at the preserve and help us teach the general public about wildlife conservation. We have a special wildlife permit that allows us to keep these amazing animals, the general public are not allowed to keep box turtles as pets. It is illegal to keep them as pets in the state of Georgia.

"We are extremely saddened by the theft of our animals," Green said. "We put so much care into making sure they have the best lives possible. We just hope that the people responsible come forward and bring us back our turtles unharmed."

Anyone with information on the incident may contact Bucki at 678-474-1579 or rbucki@johnscreekga.gov.