Emergency name leads Arizona officers to escaped reptile crossing busy freeway

Officials who answered a call about a slow-moving reptile lingering on a busy interstate are sharing details about the incident on social media.

On July 30, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) responded to the scene where the animal was trying to cross I-10 near Picacho Peak, Arizona.

The good Samaritan who called 911 was the man to thank for the rescue of Stitch — a large sulcata tortoise in question, per the AZDPS’ social media accounts.

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AZDPS Sgt. Steven Sekrecki helped get Stitch across the road before other officers noticed a tag on the animal’s back.

Arizona man and law enforcement worker with tortoise

Arizona Department of Public Safety Sgt. Steven Sekrecki (pictured right) stands with the unidentified driver who called for help after spotting the tortoise. (Arizona Department of Public Safety/AP)

“Troopers recognized a label on Stitch’s shell and contacted Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch,” officials with the AZDPS wrote on X.

As it turned out, Stitch escaped from the ranch located just two miles from where he was found.

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The AZDPS officials said in the post, “The ranch confirmed Stitch was one of their tortoises and had recently escaped.”

The tortoise was seen trying to cross an interstate near Picacho Peak State Park, Arizona. (iStock)

The Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch is an attraction park which offers animal feeding, stingray viewing and monster truck ranch tours.

Seen on “Larry the Cable Guy — Only in America,” the ranch is a three-generation family-owned working ostrich ranch, according to the ranch’s website.

Upon opening in 1999, ostrich feeding was the only offering. Today, visitors can feed Sicilian donkeys, Nigerian dwarf goats, fallow deet, pecking ducks and more.

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