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Emergency call leads Arizona officials to escaped reptile crossing busy highway


Officials who answered a call about a slow-moving reptile lingering on a busy interstate are sharing details about the incident on social media. 

On July 30, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) responded to the scene where the animal was trying to cross I-10 near Picacho Peak, Arizona. 

The good Samaritan who called 911 was the man to thank for the rescue of Stitch — a large sulcata tortoise in question, per the AZDPS’ social media accounts.

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AZDPS Sgt. Steven Sekrecki helped get Stitch across the road before other officers noticed a tag on the animal’s back. 

“Troopers recognized a label on Stitch’s shell and contacted Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch,” officials with the AZDPS wrote on X. 

As it turned out, Stitch escaped from the ranch located just two miles from where he was found.

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The AZDPS officials said in the post, “The ranch confirmed Stitch was one of their tortoises and had recently escaped.”

The Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch is an attraction park which offers animal feeding, stingray viewing and monster truck ranch tours. 

Seen on “Larry the Cable Guy — Only in America,” the ranch is a three-generation family-owned working ostrich ranch, according to the ranch’s website. 

Upon opening in 1999, ostrich feeding was the only offering. Today, visitors can feed Sicilian donkeys, Nigerian dwarf goats, fallow deet, pecking ducks and more. 

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“They were very thankful to have him back safe,” the AZDPS’ X post said of Stitch’s return to the ranch.

Fox News Digital reached out to the AZDPS and Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch for additional comment.




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