"That’s not the beginning of a joke. It’s what one caller this weekend told Jacque Barborak, whose 65-pound African Sulcata turtle went missing after escaping from his Hermitage home on June 10.

According to the caller, Barborak’s turtle, whose name is Gus, was spotted Saturday in a Farrell bar.

The land tortoise is apparently alive and may be in the possession of a man who wants a reward to return the turtle, according to another phone call Barborak received.

Barborak, whose 7-year-old reptilian pet escaped, said he got a call from a woman demanding a $100 reward for the animal. When he refused to pay, she hung up.

'It’s just knowing he’s out there, and they won’t give him back,' he said. Police told him he may not get the turtle back, and his children are still upset by the disappeared pet."

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