Turtle on the run: Police, neighbors help Arlington Heights woman corral wayward ‘companion’

The hot pursuit of a fleeing suspect can be exhausting for police officers, but when the subject is a 70-pound turtle, the experience involves more luck and cooperation than the huffing and puffing of a foot race.

So it was in the case of a turtle that escaped its owners’ backyard twice last week before being found and returned.

Nancy Ichinose is an avid pet owner, housing dogs, fish, turtles and other reptiles. She bought Flip, a sulcata tortoise, from a reptile show about 20 years ago.

Flip lives in Ichinose’s backyard at her home in Arlington Heights near Wilke Road. Last Thursday, he broke through a gate in the fence and ran away. Later that day, a neighbor spotted him and called the police.

“He was across our street, which is fairly busy, and down two houses, and a neighbor found him underneath their peach tree, gorging himself on peaches,” Ichinose said.

The responding officers transported Flip back to his home where he was reunited with Ichinose and her husband. The owners reinforced the gate to keep the 60- to 70-pound reptile from breaking out again.

“He has grown so big, and he tramples everything, and he moves furniture in our backyard. If we have lawn furniture out, we can come back the next morning and everything will be rearranged because he moves all the furniture,” Ichinose said.

When Flip was a baby, Ichinose says he could fit in the palm of a hand, but sulcata tortoises can grow up to around 150 lbs. Flip is now around 20-25 years old — Ichinose says they don’t know exactly when he was born — and he’s very powerful.

On Friday, Ichinose discovered Flip had made a break for it once again, and her heart sank.

“My goal is to always make sure whatever animal, fish, whatever reptile we have, is really well taken care of, has the appropriate housing, the appropriate nutrition,” Ichinose said. “I really feel a sense of responsibility for these animals. I enjoy them. I love having them. They’re companions.”

This time, Ichinose turned to the community around her to help search for Flip — making flyers, posting on social media and spreading the word to her neighbors.

“Lots of people came and parked their cars in front of my house and went looking — friends, neighbors and just people I’ve never met in my life who were concerned that went out looking for him. I just appreciate all their prayers and their good thoughts,” Ichinose said.

It took a couple of days, but Ichinose got a call on Sunday from a man who said he saw the tortoise in the middle of the street and brought him home.

“When I saw that man, I kind of knocked him down giving him a hug, and it was totally heartfelt,” Ichinose said.

Ichinose says there were multiple reported sightings during the search and that, overcome with relief, she didn’t ask the man who found Flip many questions about the find.

Now, her husband has reinforced the gate further, and the couple is planning to build a second fence to help keep Flip from leaving. Ichinose said she’s also considering finding him a new home as he continues to get bigger.