Police have launched a search for two stolen endangered tortoises after the Indianapolis Zoo waited 11 days to report them missing.
An Egyptian tortoise and a Northern Spider tortoise, both of which are on the critically endangered species list, were taken from their enclosure in the zoo’s desert exhibit between 10 a.m. local time on October 11 and 10 a.m. on October 12, Indiana State Police say.
Captain Ron Galaviz with the Indiana State Police confirmed to Fox 59 that the tortoises were not reported missing until last Thursday.
On Monday, authorities asked for the public’s help in finding the two tortoises in a Facebook post.
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The Indianapolis Zoo waited 11 days to report the theft of two endangered tortoises, including this Northern Spider tortoise (Indiana State Police)
Facebook users questioned how the theft could’ve happened.
“I’m curious how exactly you steal not one but TWO tortoises from a Zoo?” one user wrote.
To which another replied, “We recently went to the Indianapolis zoo and they’re not in a really closed encounter. They’re just smack in the middle with very accessible fence type thing you could reach in and pick it up.”
“How do you walk out of the zoo with 2 turtles? That must be a big rain coat,” a third user commented.
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But Galaviz explained the tortoises stolen were rather small.
“The tortoises are not the large giant tortoises that you see people sitting on and riding around on,” he told Fox 59. “These are actually very small, probably fit in the palm of your hand.”
Galaviz said the tortoises can be anywhere by now.
“They could end up in a pet store. They could be in somebody’s personal aquarium somewhere that obviously we don’t know, [the] black market. I think the possibilities run the gamut,” he said.
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An Egyptian tortoise was also taken from the zoo between 10 a.m. local time on October 11 and 10 a.m. on October 12, police say (Indiana State Police)
The Independent has reached out to the zoo for comment and Indiana State Police for updates on the tortoises’ whereabouts.
According to the zoo’s website, the Egyptian tortoises are typically four inches long and weigh one pound, and are endangered due to habitat loss and pet trade. Northern Spider tortoises, which are five inches long and weigh one pound, suffer from habitat loss and poaching.
Jake Oakman, a spokesperson for the zoo, said in a statement shared by ABC News, it is “working closely with law enforcement to investigate the theft.”
“We continue to hope for their safe return and we appreciate the community’s support during this time,” Oakman said.
Indiana State Police asked anyone with information that could help them in the search for the tortoises to contact police.
The 2025 Indiana high school football playoffs began with the Class 5A through Class 1A sectionals on October 24. The Class 6A sectionals begin on October 31.
High School On SI has brackets for every classification in the Indiana high school football playoffs. The playoffs culminate with the state championships on November 28 and 29 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
2025 Indiana (IHSAA) Class 1A Football Bracket (select to view full bracket details)
October 31, 2025 at 7 p.m.
North Judson-San Pierre at LaVille
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Bowman Academy at West Central
Pioneer at Frontier
Taylor at Carroll
North Miami at Southwood
Triton at Fremont
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Hagerstown at Monroe Central
South Adams at Tri
South Putnam at Fountain Central
North Central at Riverton Parke
Clinton Prairie at Sheridan
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Cloverdale at Tindley
Eastern Greene at Milan
Knightstown at North Decatur
Springs Valley at Providence
Tecumseh at North Daviess
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2025 Indiana (IHSAA) Class 2A Football Bracket
Friday, October 31, 2025 at 7:00 PM ET
Andrean at Wheeler
Rensselaer Central at Bremen
Southmont at Western Boone
Seeger at Cass
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Manchester at Eastside
Adams Central at Bluffton
Eastbrook at Rochester
Eastern at Tipton
Park Tudor at Indianapolis Lutheran
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Heritage Christian at Monrovia
Northeastern at Triton Central
Lapel at Eastern Hancock
Sullivan at North Posey
Greencastle at Linton-Stockton
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Clarksville at Switzerland County
Brownstown Central at Paoli
2025 Indiana (IHSAA) Class 3A Football Bracket
Friday, October 31, 2025 at 7:00 PM ET
Calumet New Tech at Mishawaka Marian
Griffith at Knox
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Garrett at Lakeland
Angola at West Noble
Peru at Twin Lakes
Western at Frankton
Mississinewa at Jay County
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Norwell at Fort Wayne Bishop Luers
Cascade at Tri-West Hendricks
Crawfordsville at Guerin Catholic
Lawrenceburg at Franklin County
Greensburg at South Dearborn
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Indian Creek at Madison
North Harrison at Scottsburg
Evansville Memorial at Gibson Southern
Southridge at Evansville Mater Dei
2025 Indiana (IHSAA) Class 4A Football Bracket
Friday, October 31, 2025 at 7:00 PM ET
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East Chicago Central vs Lowell
Hobart vs Kankakee Valley
Mishawaka vs Plymouth
South Bend St. Joseph vs Northridge
East Noble vs Fort Wayne South Side
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Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger vs Columbia City
Lebanon vs Frankfort
Logansport vs Muncie Central
Beech Grove vs Yorktown
Greenfield-Central vs Pendleton Heights
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Roncalli vs Danville
Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory vs Indianapolis Bishop Chatard
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana State Police are investigating a fatal crash that occurred on Interstate 70 in Indianapolis Sunday night.
According to a notification from the Indiana Department of Transportation, the crash happened on I-70 eastbound near mile marker 86 sometime before 9:43 p.m. The crash forced officials to close the right two lanes of the roadway and part of the ramp connecting Emerson Avenue to I-70 eastbound on the east side of Indianapolis.
Image of the crash scene captured by an INDOT camera.
State police reported that a semi and red SUV were involved in the crash. ISP indicated that its personnel on the scene confirmed one person was killed in the crash, though troopers are still working to determine if anybody else was injured in the crash.
INDOT and ISP have not indicated exactly how long they will be present on the interstate to investigate the crash.
Indiana Pacers (0-2, 15th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (1-1, seventh in the Western Conference)
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Minneapolis; Sunday, 7 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Timberwolves -11.5; over/under is 229.5
BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota and Indiana face off in non-conference action.
Minnesota finished 49-33 overall last season while going 25-16 at home. The Timberwolves averaged 114.3 points per game while allowing opponents to score 109.3 last season.
Indiana went 50-32 overall last season while going 21-20 on the road. The Pacers averaged 117.4 points per game while allowing opponents to score 115.1 last season.
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INJURIES: Timberwolves: Rob Dillingham: day to day (nasal).
Pacers: T.J. McConnell: out (hamstring), Andrew Nembhard: day to day (shoulder), Quenton Jackson: day to day (hamstring), Johnny Furphy: day to day (foot), Kam Jones: out (back), Tyrese Haliburton: out for season (achilles).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
