As waves crashed along Florida’s Santa Lucea Beach earlier this week, beachgoers noticed something unusual on shore. The jagged rocks along the beach’s perimeter appeared fuller than usual, with an extra boulder seemingly wedged between one of the cracks.

The curious beachgoers examined the displaced boulder and came to an alarming conclusion. Not only was it round and smooth, unlike the sharp rock structure around it, but it also seemed to be moving.

MARTIN COUNTY FIRE RESCUE

The Good Samaritans soon realized that they’d discovered a beached sea turtle. Sadly, the poor girl had been stuck in the dangerous rock structure for some time. They immediately called Martin County first responders, who rushed to the beach.

First responders from Martin County Fire Rescue (MCFR), Martin County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission soon arrived at the beach and located the sea turtle. They were heartbroken when they realized what she’d been through.

“The beautiful mama loggerhead came ashore to lay eggs and then tried to make it back to the water through a narrow path on the rocks, but she got stuck,” MCSO wrote on Facebook. “She began to weaken after trying so hard to free herself.”

Exhausted from laying eggs and becoming wedged between rocks, the mother turtle had run out of energy to fight. Luckily, she had a dedicated team of rescuers to do the rest of the work for her.

The team grabbed their rescue equipment and carefully lifted the helpless turtle from the rock structure.

“The first responders used straps and a rescue board to get her back onto the sand,” MCFR wrote on Facebook.

MARTIN COUNTY FIRE RESCUE

The beached sea turtle soon had all four flippers on the sand. Her worried rescuers breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the resilient girl crawl happily back to the ocean.

“She was safely released back into the water without further incident,” MCSO wrote.

The teams celebrated their successful rescue before parting ways to attend to other emergencies in the area. They haven’t seen the survivor sea turtle since, but they are happy to know she’s back in the ocean, where she belongs.

While every rescue mission has its risks, the team of first responders tasked with saving this sea turtle were elated to see this plan go off without a hitch.

“It’s a great way to start the week!” MCSO wrote.