Add another notch to the box turtle lore of Rock Creek Park.
A Montgomery County man was arrested Wednesday after a box turtle with a researcher’s Global Positioning System device on its back wandered near the alleged field of marijuana in Rock Creek Park.
And it’s not the first time box turtles have aided police in the urban park.
The easy-to-catch, shelled critters were the target of the man who stumbled across former Washington intern Chandra Levy’s body in 2002, a year after she was killed.
The long-living crawlers — they’re not considered old until they’re 60 — putter around a few acres of woods their entire lives, and their slow waddle makes them easy targets for people looking to take them home as pets.
The latest box turtle tattletale saga started July 14, when National Park Service researcher Ken Ferebee went to check on a tagged turtle known as Number 72, Ferebee said. On his way through the remote area just south of the Maryland line, he stumbled across the small field of weed.
“I was there looking for the turtle. I’ve heard about marijuana being grown in the park for a long time, but I never found it before. I was surprised,” Ferebee said. He’s been tracking Number 72 since 2001 and said it’s at least 20 years old.
After spotting the marijuana, Ferebee checked on his turtle and then went back for a closer look before calling the authorities, he said.
Police set up surveillance and waited for the pot gardener to return. With the help of Montgomery County police, the U.S. Park Police executed a warrant for Isiah Johnson’s arrest at his Chevy Chase home on the 2300 block of Washington Avenue and hauled in the 19-year-old. He’s been charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and is awaiting extradition to the District of Columbia.
Box turtles — named for their hinged shell that snaps shut to protect them — that live in Rock Creek Park and throughout the Washington area have been researched for decades.
Now, the turtles may be disappearing.
Once removed from their homes, the turtles are not easily relocated, and females lay only a half-dozen eggs per nest, most of which are eaten by other animals. And males sometimes don’t survive the mating process — they’re susceptible to falling on their backs and never righting themselves.
