Missing: 180-pound, 38-inch, 100-year-old alligator snapping turtle, known to frequent freshwater habitats and distinguished by powerful jaws that can bite through bone. Last seen Sunday on its way to a reptile expo in North Carolina. Foul play feared.
Dan Hemby said he last saw the turtle, named Thanos and considered part of the family, as he was driving along Interstate 40 in Durham, N.C., from Jacksonville.
"It's almost like losing a piece of myself, to be honest with you," Hemby told ABC 11.
He was heading to the Durham Reptile Expo when he noticed something was wrong.
"We weren't even maybe 30 minutes away from the convention center, and we get there ... first thing I see is all three straps were popped open and moved to the side and the grates were moved over," he told the station.
Looking back on the trip, Hemby said he fears Thanos may have been stolen at a rest stop outside of Benson, N.C., where he last looked in on the turtle.
"He couldn't bite his way out. I don't think he could strong-arm his way out, honestly, especially not with the three ratchet straps that were on there," Hemby said. "I think somebody messed with him, I honestly don't know what to think."
He said he also checked for blood marks on the highway in case Thanos somehow escaped.
"If he did fall, he probably got scraped up," Hemby said. "He probably survived as long as he was on this front. But if he got on his back, I don't know if he would be able to get back on after that much impact. His first thing he would do is probably go for water."
Wildlife experts told ABC 11 that if Thanos fell onto the highway, it may have survived if a river was nearby because they fare better in water than on land.
"If you see him, please let us know. Be careful. Do not handle him," Hemby said. "He couldn't go out as far as regular turtles, or regular common snappers. If somebody stole them, please just get him home or just make sure he's safe."
