Turtles Stolen From Nature Preserve, Teens Sought By Police

JOHNS CREEK, GA — Police are asking for help identifying a group of teen boys who stole five box turtles from the Autrey Mill Nature Preserve in Johns Creek.

The Nature Preserve posted a video on its Facebook page asking for help identifying three teen boys seen on camera taking five box turtles out of their enclosure and away from Autrey Mill.

Program Manager Chloe Green said the incident happened on Sept. 19, and gave a timeline of events.

Earlier in the day, a couple of the turtles were at Six Bridges Brewing for an event. Around 5 p.m., Board President Lara Maltby returned the two turtles to their enclosure, so all five were accounted. Around 6:20 p.m., the teens were seen on video looking at some other animal enclosures. Around 6:37 p.m., there is footage of them on the other side of the building where the box turtle enclosure is, taking out the box turtles and putting them into an orange bucket.

"We have a later clip that shows them walking away with the orange bucket," Green told Patch. "The reason we shared the clip of them looking at the other animal enclosures is because it is extremely clear, and we are hoping that by sharing this video, we will be able to find their identities."

The turtles' names are Who, What, Where, Why, and Trey, who has three legs.

"Our box turtles are part of the Autrey Mill family," Green said. "These animals have lived in captivity for so long, that they will not survive if they have been released into the wild. They will not know how to forage for themselves or protect themselves. 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 regarding the identity of the three teens may contact Johns Creek Police Investigator R. Bucki at 678-474-1579 or rbucki@johnscreekga.gov.