WEST MIAMI, Fla. (WSVN) — The mystery behind a tortoise that was found in wandering a West Miami neighborhood has been solved, and it was all thanks in part to concerned neighbors’ kind efforts.

7News cameras captured Mia, a 20-year-old African spurred tortoise, safely back home but a little camera-shy after an adventure that had her family worried sick.

“We were scared,” said Mareanela Borrego, the large reptile’s owner. “The first that thing we think about was that we were not going to see her again.”

On Thursday, Mia’s loved ones came home to find the tortoise gone. “I was thinking someone could get her,” said Millie.

It didn’t take long for Borrego, Millie and her brother Mike to figure out exactly what happened: Mia had made her escape through a hole in the fence that was left uncovered.

Thankfully, the animal did not get very far. “Literally three houses down,” said area resident Vanessa Herrero.

Since Herrero’s backyards is teeming with tortoises and other creatures, neighbors who found the reptile roaming the streets on Thursday came to her. “[They said], ‘I think this belongs to you,’ and I’m like, ‘No, not this one,'” she said.

But Mia wasn’t hers. “One of my biggest fears is something getting loose out of my yard, one of my pets, and if that did happen, I would want somebody to go above and beyond to make sure that I got them back,” said Herrero.

So that’s what the animal lover did. She posted fliers in hopes of locating Mia’s owner.

Herrero’s efforts paid off. Friday morning, Herrero got a call from the reptile’s family.

By Friday morning, the slow mover made a fast trip home, giving the tale of the lost tortoise of West Miami a happy ending.

“Thank you very much,” said Borrego. “We appreciate what she did for Mia. We love her.”

Herrero said this is not the first time she has reunited a wandering pet with its owner, and it won’t be the last time.

Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox