Chris-

Unfortunately its not really a matter of opinion. T. s. elegans is native to southern Ohio. Whiles certainly have their stronghold in the southeastern United States, that is not the extent of their range. One thing to note is that the redear slider (Trachemys s. elegans) is actually more the more northern subspecies of slider (the nominate, Trachemys s. scripta, is much more southern in range). Also, just across the river in northern Kentucky, T. s. elegans is a relatively common species. Rivers don't usually provide effective barriers to riparian turtles...You probably got most of your information from field guides, but you'll need to research subjects deeper than just field guides to get a more accurate portrayal of most things. If you'd like to look into it further, I'd suggest looking at "Turtles of the United States and Canada," by Ernst, Lovich, and Barbour. In there it states "T. scripta ranges naturally from southeastern Virginia, southwestward to northern Florida, north to Kentucky and Tennessee to southern Ohio..." I hope that clears things up.

~Mike

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