A sea turtle that was rescued from frigid Northwest waters and treated at the Oregon Coast Aquarium has caught a ride back to California on a Coast Guard training flight.
The aquarium in Newport says the endangered olive ridley turtle named Solstice hitched a ride Tuesday on a Coast Guard C-130 and will complete her rehabilitation at SeaWorld in San Diego.
A Coast Guard spokesman confirms the turtle safely reached San Diego.
Solstice was dehydrated with a body temperature 15 degrees below normal when she was found Dec. 21 on the Long Beach Peninsula in southwest Washington.
With the approval of the Fish and Wildlife, Solstice will be released this summer in warmer waters where turtles typically range.
At least five other turtles caught in cold currents this winter were stranded and died on the coasts of Washington and Oregon.
