ELLENDALE, Del. -- A beloved turtle that has lived at Bella Terra Landscapes and Garden Center in Ellendale for six years is missing, and employees believe he may have been stolen.
Tommy the turtle has long been a fixture at the garden center, where workers cared for him and used him during field trips to teach children about local wildlife. Staff discovered he was missing on Tuesday when they checked on him and found he was no longer in his pond.
“He was a very personable turtle. And when I first noticed no one coming up to me, I was like, something's fishy,” said Briley Brooks, an employee at the garden center who regularly cared for Tommy.
According to Brooks, his brother originally found Tommy and placed him in the man-made years ago. After noticing the turtle was missing, Brooks drained the entire tub in an effort to locate him, but was unsuccessful.
Because the sides of the pond are too high for Tommy to climb out on his own, Brooks said he believes someone took the turtle.
“We had someone on Tuesday here, and they spent an abnormal amount of time around our pond area, probably about 45 minutes or so. Actually ended up purchasing one of our plants in the pond that holds a bit of water that would be the perfect spot to put a turtle in,” Brooks said.
While garden center employees believe they may know who took Tommy, Brooks said they are not interested in publicly identifying anyone or pursuing punishment.
“We wouldn't seek any punishment. We know they're one of the most common turtles in this area. You can go to any pond and find them; you could almost walk in the park and come across one. But he was near and dear to our hearts. He's a special turtle, he's very personable, he knew us, it seems like, and we'd just like to see him come home,” Brooks said.
Employees said they remain hopeful that Tommy will be returned soon and encourage whoever took the turtle to return him.
Bella Terra Landscapes and Garden Center
The Garden Center also said it wants to use this incident as a chance to remind people to respect wildlife, especially any that might live at the center.
Staff said they are having an event on June 20th where, if Tommy has not yet been returned, kids are invited to paint missing posters for the turtle to help find him. More information on that event can be found on the center's website.
