for lela.

LELA: THIS WAS THE ARTICLE WE WERE GOING TO READ WHEN MY INTERNET FUCKED UP, SO HERE YOU GO.


Tortoise Disappears, Treks 20 Miles

July 13, 2005 7:33 AM EDT

CICERO, Ill. - Michelangelo is back home after three slow - but steady - weeks on the road. The tortoise, affectionately known as Mikey, was reunited with Eastern Illinois University student Kim Heinemann on Monday after police found him moseying along the side of a road in this Chicago suburb more than 20 miles from where he went missing.

Heinemann, 23, and her family had mounted a public relations campaign to draw attention to the plight of her sluggish pet.

At one point during his journey, the tortoise was seen crossing a busy street where traffic had stopped to let him pass.

"He looks the same but is just hungry," Heinemann said Tuesday. "We stayed optimistic over the past few weeks, but we knew it was like a needle in a haystack that he would be found."

The 22-pound desert tortoise disappeared in June from the backyard at Heinemann's parents' home where they were visiting for a few days. A resident eventually called police to report a tortoise walking down the road.

By Monday, Mikey was back at Heinemann's Charleston home where there's a turtle-proof fence around her yard.