In her home state of Florida, Sage LaJoie sees a lot of sea turtles on her daily commute.
On July 13, she was going for a morning run on the beach in Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge when she came across a massive loggerhead sea turtle flipped on its back in the sand.
“When you spend as much time on the beach as I do, it’s pretty likely you’re going to come across marine life that needs help,” LaJoie wrote in an Instagram post.
Although LaJoie’s first instinct was to call her local Sea Turtle Preservation Society for help, a sea turtle stranding coordinator informed her that it would be hours before they could reach her location. She called two more rescues, to no avail.
“I could never leave a sea turtle alone in that position,” she said. “They are super vulnerable and can’t defend themselves at all.”
But as much as she wished she could, LaJoie knew she was not capable of flipping the sea turtle by herself. Adult loggerheads can weigh between 155 and 400 pounds.
So, LaJoie called her husband for support.
“I called him, and he quickly drove to my location, helped me dig around the sea turtle so we could safely flip her, and we got her on her flippers again!”
Surprisingly, when it came to helping a sea turtle in distress, this wasn’t LaJoie’s first rodeo. On June 16, the content creator posted a similar rescue — one that went on to garner 650,000 views.
“In honor of World Sea Turtle Day, I wanted to share an experience I had back in August of 2025,” LaJoie wrote in a video caption.
Before recounting her tale, LaJoie emphasized that the most important thing that someone should do when they find a stranded sea turtle is contact the Sea Turtle Preservation Society or Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission before handling it.
“When I found this green [sea] turtle, I called the STPS immediately,” she said. “The crazy part was, this was 2:40 p.m., meaning she had been there, on her back, for a very long time. Sea turtles nest during the night or just before dawn, so this poor sea turtle had likely been stuck like this for hours!”
Screenshot via sagelajoie/Instagram
“I knew she needed help, so after I called STPS, I ran about a half mile until I found a family that could help me … we worked together and were able to safely get her right side up, and we watched as she hurriedly made her way back into the water.”
LaJoie explained that they were instructed by experts to dig around her flippers to ensure they didn’t injure her as they flipped her upright.
“She seemed extremely relieved to head back into her ocean home,” she said. “As a direct neighbor of sea turtles, I feel it is my responsibility to protect and love my neighbors. I am so grateful that I found this beautiful green sea turtle that day, because otherwise, I highly doubt this vulnerable creature would have survived.”
Screenshot via sagelajoie/Instagram
The comments section beneath the video was filled with well wishes and praise.
“Always happy if I see more kindness to help each other for a better life,” one Instagram user said.
“I’m glad you helped her get back to the sea. I bet she was exhausted,” another commented.
One person took the time to caution other beachgoers by simply writing: “Fill in your holes.”
According to marine biologist Katherine Sayler, dramatic changes to the beach’s landscape can become harrowing obstacles to nesting sea turtles and their hatchlings.
“Keep beaches dark, flat, and clean,” advised Sayler, who serves as the southeast representative for the nonprofit Defenders of Wildlife. “That’s really the action item that everyday people can do to really help sea turtles rebound and increase in abundance.”
That includes knocking down sandcastles too — after its builder has left the beach or given their permission, of course.
“That kiddo probably got a lot of enjoyment out of building it, but now they’ve gone home, so they won’t know that their castle is no longer standing,” Salyer told Good Good Good.
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