Kansas woman reunited with lost tortoise 9 months after it went missing thanks to young boy

A Kansas pet owner was left gleefully shell-shocked when her missing tortoise that managed to escape from the backyard was found only five houses down – nine months later.

Jan Langton was reunited with 17-year-old Fredericka the tortoise last month thanks to the keen eyes of her young neighbor who spotted the tortoise trudging along in his backyard, according to reports.

“I was laying in the hammock and then I turned around and I saw the tortoise-like walking and my dad ran to get a bucket and he put her in there,” 7-year-old and neighborhood hero Henry Miles told KMBC.

“It looked like it wasn’t from around here.”

The Russian tortoise was from only about five houses down, though there are reportedly plenty of trees and brush between the homes in the area.

Langton said the pet she’s had since 2015 went missing on August 5 when she let the tortoise explore the backyard and the slow-moving pet got under the fence.

“She can scramble lickety-split,” Langton told the Kansas City Star.

Langton then posted lost tortoise notices on social media sites and even offered a $400 reward for anyone who found and returned her home.

As weeks and months dragged by, Langton gave away some tortoise supplies, but never fully lost hope.

Her faith was rewarded when the Miles family called her nine months and 15 days after Fredericka vanished and told her that they spotted the missing pet, according to the newspaper.

Henry, the sharp-eyed 7-year-old, saw the tortoise as he was relaxing in a hammock with his dad in their backyard.

“He is so proud and it’s made him semi-famous in the neighborhood,” mother Ellen Miles said. “I doubt he’ll ever forget this event, it was pretty fun.”

Meanwhile, Langton said she was “overjoyed.”

“I mean, I couldn’t even believe it,” she told the Star.