200-pound tortoise found in Hemet reunited with owner

SAN JACINTO, Calif. (KABC) -- A Riverside man reunited with his 200-pound tortoise that was taken to San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus after it was found wandering a street in Hemet.

Vince Tarantino, of Aguanga, brought in documentation to prove his pet - named Tortoise - was his.

Tarantino owns two tortoises and keeps them in a sanctuary on his property. During a rain storm that swept through the Inland Empire Thursday night, part of the sanctuary was washed out, which gave Tortoise ample room to escape.

Tortoise was found Friday morning by one of Tarantino's neighbors, who then took the massive reptile to the shelter unsure of who owned him.

Tarantino said his pet is more than 100 years old, and that Tortoise hid in his burrow the moment he got home, tired from his "vacation."