An 8-year-old on a beach holiday ended up helping rescue one of the rarest sea turtles seen in North Carolina.
In mid-April, a family from Spartanburg, South Carolina, was vacationing in Oak Island, North Carolina, when their daughter Katie spotted a sea turtle caught on a fishing hook off Ocean Crest Pier. The family called the Oak Island Sea Turtle Protection Program, an all-volunteer nonprofit that rescues and monitors 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 said 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 also been spotted along the Atlantic coast.
A sighting in North Carolina is rare. In 2025, 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.
People commenting on the Facebook post also praised Katie’s role in the rescue. “Great job Katie!” one person wrote.
The nonprofit has also had a busy month. On April 14, it helped the National Aquarium release 29 sea turtles, including 13 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles. The turtles 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.
“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, releasing 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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