Tortoise escapes from Carroll Middle School

SOUTHLAKE, Texas - Carroll Middle School is asking residents to be on the lookout for its missing tortoise named Samson.

Students in the school’s animal sciences class typically care for the 50-pound reptile. But on Friday, Samson escaped from the unlocked patio at the school where he is kept.

"The gate just got left open after school and when I checked it it was closed but some time had passed," said Carroll MS animal science teacher Cammie Justice-Smith. "He's not going very fast. He's munching his way around Southlake."

Michael David Pyeatt believes he spotted him later that evening at Gateway Church, which is near the school in Southlake. He said he didn’t realize the tortoise was on the loose at the time and just assumed it was a wild animal.

Pyeatt said a passing motorist actually stopped to move him out of the street. The church’s security guards call animal control but no one answered.

Southlake police are now helping the school search for Samson. Anyone who spots him can call the school at 817-949-5400.