A Tortoise Stolen From Queens Has Been Found, Unharmed

Millennium was missing for over a week.

by Erik Shilling July 25, 2017

The returned tortoise, with the NYPD detectives that helped find him. NYPD/Public Domain

Some time between July 15 and July 16, a 17-year-old tortoise named Millennium disappeared from the Alley Pond Environmental Center in Queens, New York. The 100-pound African spurred tortoise was chelonian-napped—and it was more than a prank.

“I would definitely think it would probably be more than one person to do that, they would have to have something to carry him,” an official told DNAinfo then. “You can’t walk down the street with a 100-pound tortoise.”

On Tuesday, police announced a break in the case: Millennium had been found, safe and alive, and returned to his caretakers at the environmental center.

After his theft, Millennium ended up in Connecticut, where he was traded, for another tortoise, to someone who realized that he was stolen and notified police. No arrests have been made in the case, though an investigation is ongoing, according to CBS2. Millennium, meanwhile, seems happy to be back home, or at least as happy as a tortoise can look.