Missing 115-year-old Desert Tortoise Returned To Albuquerque Senior Living Community

ALBUQUERQUE, NM — A 115-year-old desert tortoise that disappeared from its garden at an Albuquerque senior living community has been returned.

The tortoise, Diablo, was returned Friday to Manzano del Sol Village, the Albuquerque Journal reported. He had ventured to the backyard of a nearby home after a family bought the shell-wearing wanderer from kids at a local park.

Millie Tjeltweed, who owns Diablo, said she doesn't know the circumstances of the tortoise's disappearance.
The family that bought Diablo called the senior living community after seeing a news report on the tortoise's disappearance, Tjeltweed said. Tjeltweed and some administrators from the facility went over to the home, and Tjeltweed was able to verify that it was her pet of 35 years. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Photo credit: Pacific Southwest Region USFWS via Flickr/Creative Commons