Tennessee tortoise that walked away from home returns after 74 days

Earlier this summer, Solomon, a 150-pound Sulcata tortoise, escaped from his home in Ashland City, Tenn., about 20 miles northwest of Nashville, and ambled about for 74 days before returning.

Lynn Cole, Solomon’s owner, told CNN she tried a number of solutions to try and find her missing tortoise, including hanging signs up around town and posting on social media to reaching out to zoos and animal rescues but had no luck.

“If you knew the number of searches that were launched by ourselves, and other community groups and individuals,” she said. “He just eluded our ability to spot him.”

Then, last week, a man called saying he’d seen the teenaged tortoise in an unlikely place: a construction site about 650 feet away from Cole’s home.