In mid-April, a family from Spartanburg, South Carolina was vacationing in Oak Island, North Carolina when their 8-year-old daughter, Katie, spotted a sea turtle that was caught on a fishing hook off Ocean Crest Pier.
That’s when the family called the Oak Island Sea Turtle Protection Program, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that helps rescue and monitor sea turtles in the area.
“A big thank you to Katie and her family from Spartanburg, SC, for calling us to make sure the turtle was ok,” the nonprofit posted on Facebook on April 17.
The Oak Island Sea Turtle Protection Program confirmed that Katie had found a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle — the world’s smallest and most endangered sea turtle.
Kemp’s ridley sea turtles primarily nest along the Gulf of Mexico, but they have been spotted along the Atlantic coast.
A sighting in North Carolina, however, is incredibly rare. In 2025, a total of just 10 Kemp’s ridley sea turtle nests were recorded in the state.
“We assessed the turtle, checked him for tags, got some great data for the state, and released him immediately,” the nonprofit shared.
“Thanks for all that you guys do for the turtles,” one local commented under the Facebook post.
“Y’all do great things!” said another.
Others made sure to shout out the young girl who was central to the Kemp’s ridley rescue, saying, “Great job Katie!”
The Oak Island Sea Turtle Protection Program has had a busy month.
On April 14, they helped the National Aquarium facilitate the release of 29 sea turtles — 13 of which were Kemp’s ridley sea turtles. All of them had been rescued from a mass stranding up north that left them cold-stunned.
“In December, we got these turtles from the New England Aquarium. They were rehabbed in Baltimore, and we drove them about 7 and a half hours from Baltimore, Maryland,” Kira Canter, an assistant rehab biologist with the National Aquarium in Baltimore, told local news station WWAY.
On the day of the release, teeming crowds cheered from the sidelines as the turtles returned to the warm waters of the Atlantic.
“It’s so exciting that we can share what we do with all these people, get them interested in sea turtles, let them know a little bit about what’s going on and different ways that they can help us,” Canter said. “It’s truly amazing to see the amount of support we can get from these.”
For Canter, the release of 13 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles was especially meaningful.
“It’s amazing that we can put so many of these endangered species back out into the ocean, giving them another chance at life,” she said.
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Header image via Oak Island Sea Turtle Protection Program
