Three Frankfort family members named John Witt " a father, son and grandson " helped save the life of an endangered sea turtle while vacationing on South Padre Island, Texas, in early January.
Before returning to their condo after driving north on the island for several hours one day, they decided on the spur-of-the-moment to take a walk out on a jetty " a break wall for ships coming into port from the Gulf of Mexico.
Their 400-yard trek became a surprise walk to remember and has changed their lives, recalls Duckers Point resident John E. Witt, 54, a retired state police trooper who is now a pilot for Comair.
"It's amazing," he says. "I became a turtle lover just instantly. It's an emotional thing when you see something that's helpless and dying like that."
He was on South Padre Island with his father, John D. Witt, 79, a retired engineer for the Kentucky Department of Highways, and his son, John D. Witt, 23, a senior at the University of Kentucky majoring in computer science and engineering.
John, 79, noticed the turtle first and pointed to it. The waves had slammed the turtle into rocks and jammed it tightly between two large rocks. They thought it was dead.
John, 23, had his camera and took several pictures, then said, "This turtle doesn't look like it's been here that long."
John, 54, agreed, saying, "You're right. It doesn't." So he straddled rocks and reached down in the crevice and placed a hand on the turtle and turned its head gently.
"When I did, his flippers moved slightly," he recalls.
Then John, 23, said immediately, "Sea Turtle Rescue Center," recalling a building he had seen on their drive earlier in the day. But they didn't know the phone number, so John, 54, decided to call 911 on his cell phone.
"I was thinking this isn't normally a 911 call, but considering my background, they'll probably forgive me when I tell them I'm a retired state trooper.
"When I explained to the dispatcher what had happened, I apologized profusely. And she said, "Oh, no, you did the right thing. We take our sea turtles seriously here. I'll get in touch with the Coast Guard.'"
Before the Coast Guard arrived, John, 23, used his cell phone to call directory assistance and get the number to notify Sea Turtle Rescue Center.
The Coast Guard and Lucia Guillen, an educator for Sea Turtle Inc., arrived quickly. STI is a not-for-profit organization that operates the rescue center and assists the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services with patrolling South Texas beaches for seat turtle nests.
But John, 54, couldn't wait until they arrived to do something. "I couldn't stand it so I pulled him out of the hole," he recalls. "He was emaciated and as dry as could be when I pulled him out. He had scars and blood on his shell and I put him in a water puddle."
Soon the Witt trio took turns carrying the lethargic turtle along the jetty. "It felt like it weighed 40 pounds, so it was kind of awkward carrying it," says John, 54.
When Guillen met them, she immediately said, "Oh, it's a Kemp's ridley."
John, 54, says, "At the time, I had no idea what that meant. She took the turtle so carefully and put its head on her shoulder and carried it like an infant. She was almost moved to tears."
She invited the Witts to follow her four miles to the rescue center. They accepted the invitation.
At the rescue center, the Witts learn that the Kemp's ridley sea turtle is a native of the area, and a sub-adult of the most endangered species of sea turtles in the world.
"Nearly extinct in 1985, the species is coming back slowly due to massive joint Mexico/USA nesting beach conservation efforts," according to David Cromwell, an STI staff member. "As a sub-adult this turtle (named Marley by John, 23), has already beaten 333 to 1 odds to live this long.
"In a few years, if it survives, it will be an important part of the breeding population in the Gulf of Mexico between Galveston, Texas, and Tampico, Mexico. As a breeding adult it will have an effect on species survival."
In the emergency room, the Witts watched STI staff members swarm over the turtle, checking for obvious injuries while scrubbing it clean. Marley got poked with steroid, antibiotic and fluids needles. Turtle-stranding paperwork began while measurements and weight were recorded.
Flipper biopsy and blood work had to wait. Marley was in critical condition and it appeared unlikely he would make it through the night.
Most marine biologists agree, however, sea turtles are tough and hard to kill. And two weeks after his narrow escape on the rocks, STI curator Jeff George officially proclaimed Marley "out of the woods."
Marley had received numerous heat lamp applications, shots, fluids, blood work and daily love from staff members and visitors.
Friday afternoon, George, by telephone, said the Witts are heroes. He said Marley was suffering from a "raging bacterial infection and was only an hour or two away from death."
John, 79, is still on the island and visits Marley every day, takes a lot of pictures, helps with shots and frequently calls his son and grandson in Kentucky with updates.
"Marley has made all three of them sea turtle conservationists," George said.
John, 54, says Marley is a blessing in disguise for his father. "Dad says every time he walks into the rescue center, Marley recognizes him. He says he comes up and opens his mouth and blows bubbles at him.
"I'm going down to pick up my dad at the end of the month and I can't wait to go see Marley. It's crazy that you can become so emotionally attached to something like this. It's crazy how much of an event this has turned out to be."
He says the people at the rescue center are the real heroes. "They're the ones who saved him. It's like if I walked out my front door now and someone outside was having a heart attack, I'd call 911, but I wouldn't be saving anyone's life. The paramedics would be the ones doing that.
"The fact that what we did means so much to so many people on the island is surprising."
John, 23, says, "It's a neat story to tell. I've told all my friends about it."
A story on the Witts finding an endangered sea turtle and its rescue was published in the Island Breeze newspaper at South Padre, along with grandson John's photos of Marley.
For Marley's body size, he should have weighed about 50 pounds, but being emaciated, he only weighed 22 pounds. George said adult Kemp's ridley sea turtles sometimes weigh as much as 110 pounds.
Healthy Kemp's ridleys have a life expectancy of 50 to 70 years, George said.
He also said Marley could possibly be a female. "We don't know for sure yet. Twenty years ago, there were less than 500 females total. Now there are more than 10,000. They are on the road to recovery."
In late June, three John Witts are planning to return to Texas to witness the release of Marley.
"They're going to let us actually do the release," John, 23, says, "20 miles out in the gulf."
"I'm sure all three John Witts will be there," John, 54, says. "We couldn't miss it."