PONCE INLET -- Volusia County’s Environmental Management Division is asking the public to help find a nesting loggerhead turtle that disappeared from the beach in Ponce Inlet early Monday morning.
According to sea turtle specialist Jennifer Winters, a loggerhead turtle crawled onto the beach to nest near the Beach Street ramp, possibly after low tide at 2:30 a.m. The turtle’s tracks went up the ramp west of the gates and ended at the pavement.
“The area was searched extensively, but due to thick vegetation and private property, we couldn’t find it,” Winters said. “We want to find this turtle, even if it expired naturally.”
Anyone who finds the turtle or saw anything suspicious should call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at (888) 404-3922 or the county’s Environmental Management Division at (386) 238-4668 or (386) 238-4716.