Baby sea turtles taken from nest, found in hotel trash can

TYBEE ISLAND, GA (WTOC) — A couple visiting Tybee Island is likely facing some stiff penalties after six baby loggerhead turtles were found in their hotel room on Tuesday.

Thankfully, the turtles were in good health, the majority being released back into the wild.

A quick-thinking housekeeper at the hotel tipped off the Marine Science Center when she found the six live baby turtles in a trash can with water in it inside the hotel room she was cleaning. Police soon got involved and the search was on for the man and woman staying there.

Once found, Tybee officers questioned them both. Initially, the man lied, saying he found turtles in the sidewalk in front of the hotel along Butler Avenue. Knowing that was highly unlikely, the officers continued pressing and eventually got the truth.In the police report, the man said that while out on the beach just north of the pier the night before, other people were trying to grab the baby turtles, so he and the woman he was with picked up some too and put them in cups to take back to their hotel room. The man also admitted they were intoxicated while doing all this.

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