Sarasota police rescue stranded turtle off Siesta Key

While out training on the water, Sarasota Police Department’s dive team made a rescue, but the one in distress wasn’t human.

On Wednesday morning, Officer Tripp Schwenk spotted a 108-pound loggerhead turtle in the water a mile off of Siesta Key. The turtle hadn’t ducked back under as their boat passed by, so they thought something was wrong, according to Sarasota police. Naming it “Trippi” after the eagle-eye officer, the crew pulled the turtle, lethargic and covered in algae, onto the boat and brought it to Mote Marine Laboratory around 11 a.m., where it will be diagnosed and rehabilitated.

Mote Marine spokesperson Kaitlyn Fusco said a good sign was when the turtle was responsive when it came into Mote’s care and had no signs of boat strikes. They still aren’t sure why it is sick, Fusco said, but the presence of that much algae meant it hadn’t moved in a while.

While the officers themselves were qualified to do that rescue, Fusco said civilians should not handle marine life themselves.

Anyone who sees stranded or injured animals in Sarasota or Manatee waters can contact Mote’s Strandings Investigations Program’s 24-hour pager at 941-988-0212.

This story was originally published April 5, 2017 at 2:28 PM with the headline "Sarasota police rescue stranded turtle off Siesta Key."