INDIANAPOLIS — Two tortoises are safe and on their way back home, nearly three weeks after they were stolen from the Indianapolis Zoo .

The zoo reported the theft earlier this week, saying the theft of the Egyptian tortoise and a Northern Spider tortoise happened sometime Oct. 11 or early Oct. 12. Both species of tortoise are considered critically endangered.

According to Indiana State Police, the Pendleton Police department received a call from visitors to the town's Falls Park who said they found the tortoises in an unattended cardboard box near a sidewalk behind the park's museum.

The callers said the box had a paper plate on top of it, with a note referencing the Indianapolis zoo. The visitors found the tortoises inside the box and called police.

Police contacted zoo personnel, who

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