FIRST PHOTO: A sea turtle rests in a pool of shallow water near the first entrance to Kanaha Beach Park on Friday morning. Officials believe the creature had been washed ashore nearly two weeks ago by the March 11 tsunami and took refuge in the pond more than 100 yards from the ocean.
SECOND PHOTO: Ethan Isberner (from left) joins his father, Mark, longtime Kanaha Beach Park volunteer Mike Perry and Kahului resident Richard Mannette as they hoist the stranded turtle in a tarp Friday.
THIRD PHOTO: The female sea turtle returns to the ocean with the help of volunteers including Horacio Martinez (from left), Mannette and Perry. Isberner, a University of Hawaii Maui College student and volunteer with a sea turtle rescue program, said he and the other volunteers coaxed the turtle onto the tarp and carried the creature 150 to 200 yards to the water to release it. "At first it was kind of in shock, discombobulated. But once we put it 10 feet in front of the ocean, and it smelled the salt water, it took off," he said. "It's always amazing to see that."
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The Maui News / AMANDA COWAN photo
