Giant pet tortoise is found after escaping its pen in northeastern Georgia

CARLTON, Ga. - A giant tortoise that went missing in northeast Georgia has been found after a motorist spotted the 50-pound animal crossing a road.

Miranda Mendenhall tells The Athens Banner-Herald that she saw a logging truck swerve around something on Lexington Carlton Road on Thursday afternoon. She thought it was a bag of trash at first, but then called 911 when she realized it was a huge tortoise.

Zip the tortoise had made it about a half-mile from its home in Carlton. Zip had forced its way out of a backyard fence Sept. 13, touching off a search.

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