ATHOL, Mass. (WHDH) — A 6-year-old tortoise is back with its owner after running more than a mile from home in Athol Sunday.

Officers who found the 40-pound African spurred tortoise on Partridgeville Road around 6:40 p.m. used lettuce to lure it closer before rescuing it.

An investigation revealed that the reptile ventured more than a mile away from its home before it was found, police said.

Officers, along with members of the New England Aquarium, Massachusetts Environmental Police and animal control officer Jennifer Arsenault, helped return the tortoise to its owner.

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