15 baby sea turtles rescued by deputies from storm drain

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report from Turtle Time regarding 15 baby sea turtles in distress.

Deputies were called to Bonita Beach after being contacted by the non-profit organization after the report stated the infants were disoriented by lights being left on overnight.

The dazed turtles then traveled away from the seawater before falling into a nearby storm drain.

Mid-July is the heart of sea turtle nesting season. And those hatchlings came out of a nest just like any of the sectioned-off nests you would see at many Southwest Florida beaches.

Normally, the hatchlings would crawl toward the light reflected by the ocean. But as Robbin Trindell from Florida Fish and Wildlife said, lights left on at houses near the beach can be a powerful lure for the endangered species.

“When we make the landside bright with artificial light, that really confuses the cues they have evolved to use, and they will end up going away from the water and towards brighter lights,” said Trindell.

Deputies on the scene located the baby turtles, opened the sewer drain and used a special tool to extract all 15 animals.

Each turtle was then cleaned and given to Turtle Time for examination.

Volunteers then invited the two deputies who saved the animals back to the beach to assist with their release into the ocean.