EDMONTON SUN (Alberta) 10 September 07 Cops puzzle over tortoise-napping
Staff at PJ's Pet Centre in Londonderry Mall are hopeful city police can solve a bizarre tortoise-napping.
Manager Charity McFetridge alleges a couple - with a baby in a stroller - seemed to have targeted a $1,000 leopard tortoise at the pet shop.
The man and woman in their late 20s or early 30s entered the store at 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 28 and made a beeline for the reptile centre, keeping an eye out for anyone in the area and using the baby stroller as a screen, according to a police report.
The man allegedly cut the wire mesh over an aquarium, reached in to remove the tortoise and put it in his hooded sweater, police said. The couple then immediately left the store.
Police, however, believe the couple's images were captured on a security camera.
Unlike their turtle cousins, tortoises are rare as pets which drives their price up. Leopard tortoises are even rarer.
Cops puzzle over tortoise-napping