Lost 150-Pound Tortoise Reunited With His Human Family In Alhambra

ALHAMBRA (CBSLA.com) — The mystery of the found 150-pound tortoise in Alhambra has been solved.

The hefty reptile was spotted about 1 p.m. Saturday.

Officials said "he tried to make a run for it, but our officers are pretty fast."

Alhambra Police chased down this 150-pound tortoise Saturday. The plan is to reunite him with his human family. (credit: Alhambra Police)

Police could not rule out if the tortoise was abandoned or from the wild but reported Sunday on their Facebook page the reptile and his human family have been reunited.

Eight different people called claiming to be the rightful owner -- at least one other called about a possible adoption -- but Animal Control was able to determine who the turtle belonged to by revealing "distinctive markings."

For the record, the tortoise is named Dirk.

Officials said it is technically illegal to posses the animal but police said "we enjoy keeping families together, so an exception was made in this case."