Turtle stolen from locked enclosure at Audubon Center

More than 4,000 students who visit Mitchell Lake Audubon Center each year enjoyed seeing Rocket, a red-eared slider donated to the nonprofit three years ago. Intruders stole the 6-year-old turtle after breaking into her padlocked enclosure shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday. less More than 4,000 students who visit Mitchell Lake Audubon Center each year enjoyed seeing Rocket, a red-eared slider donated to the nonprofit three years ago. Intruders stole the 6-year-old turtle after breaking ... more Photo: Courtesy Of Mitchell Lake Audubon Center Photo: Courtesy Of Mitchell Lake Audubon Center Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Turtle stolen from locked enclosure at Audubon Center 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Rocket is a turtle with some spunk and a bit of attitude. She loves to be the center of attention. She is on public display for the more than 4,000 students who visit the nonprofit Mitchell Lake Audubon Center each year.

But shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday, someone stole Rocket from her padlocked outdoor wetlands area. Security cameras captured images of a group of teens carrying away the beloved red-eared slider. She hasn’t been seen since.

“It’s pretty devastating,” center director Sara Beesley said Friday. “We were immediately worried that she had been harmed.”

The staff felt some relief when security footage revealed young trespassers had actually carried 6-year-old Rocket off the grounds because it gave them hope that she wasn’t injured. But they are pleading for her return.

“Our primary concern is to have her back and have her safe,” Beesley said. “If she magically appears in her habitat overnight, we would welcome it.”

The center is on the South Side on rural property leased from the San Antonio Water System. The grounds are enclosed by fences topped with barbed wire and sit next door to the San Antonio Police Department Training Academy.

The intruders may have cut through a portion of fence near the road, Beesley said. They approached Rocket’s outdoor habitat — a small wetlands area enclosed by chicken wire and wood — and broke off one of two padlocks securing the top of her abode.

Staff arrived Thursday morning to discover Rocket gone. They unlocked her enclosed habitat, looked through the grasses and even dug underneath a sunken water tub searching for her.

“Finally, we saw there was a crack in the top lid of her area, her habitat. Someone had broken the lock to open it and take her out,” Beesley said.

The security footage captured by SAWS’ cameras showed a group of young boys and girls, Beesley said. She didn’t know the exact number of trespassers.

SAWS gave that video to police.

“We’re working with them to bring resolution to this as soon as possible,” said Gavino Ramos, SAWS’ vice president of communications, external affairs and conservation.

Rocket wouldn’t be startled by people approaching her because she is so used to interacting with children, Beesley said.

“She’s definitely a queen,” she said. “She likes being in charge and the center of attention. She loves kids. … She’s very easy to handle.”

Beesley is asking the public to take pictures of any roaming turtles they see around the Audubon Center in case Rocket was set loose. The turtle has several distinctive markers that staff would be able to identify. The center can be reached at 210-628-1639 or mlac@audubon.org.

“The challenge is there are also a lot of turtles out and about on the streets right now” since it’s breeding season, Beesley said. “And they’re all looking for a lady friend or gentleman friend.”

Peggy O’Hare is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | pohare@express-news.net | @Peggy_OHare