Sea turtle rescued after being found a mile from the ocean in Cedar Key

APOLLO BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — A sea turtle was found more than a mile from the Gulf of Mexico on a rural road in Cedar Key.

The green sea turtle was found on southwest Highway 361 and Southwest 583rd Avenue in distress by a good Samaritan.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission hotline was called and now Buckley, the sea turtle is at The Florida Aquarium receiving rehabilitation.

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"For Buckley to be able to get from that dirt road back to the ocean would be a very difficult journey and probably not likely, if these good samaritans were not there in the right time, right place, and came upon Buckley," said Ashley Riese, The Florida Aquarium's Sea Turtle Program Director.

Buckley was initially with the University of Florida, whose team responded to the rescue before being transferred to the aquarium's Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center in Apollo Beach.

According to The Florida Aquarium, with the recent hurricanes, the aquarium's rehab center is the only facility on the state's west coast that can take in new sea turtles for care.