An all-terrain vehicle (ATV) recently stolen from Flagler Turtle Patrol was discovered on Monday by a field technician. The ATV, which was reported stolen on June 17, was located in the brush near Marineland.
John Dunlop, a field technician with the East Flagler Mosquito Control District, was credited with the find in a press release on Monday. Dunlop, a Mosquito Control employee since 2022, reportedly stumbled upon the ATV at around 10:00 a.m. and immediately contacted the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
“We never know what we’ll come upon in the areas we inspect,” said Dunlop, a lifelong Florida outdoorsman. “Usually, it’s something that wants to bite you. This was a nice surprise.”
No suspects in the ATV have been publicly named as of Tuesday. An iPad used for uploading data to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission was not found. While the ATV has been missing, Turtle Patrol volunteers have been forced to conduct their work on-foot during peak sea turtle nesting months.
The ATV is used by Flagler Turtle Patrol to ride along the beaches of Flagler County surveying for nests laid by sea turtles. Upon finding these nests, Turtle Patrol volunteers mark them so that beach-goers can avoid disturbing the sensitive eggs before they hatch. Five of the six sea turtle species known to occur in Florida are considered threatened.
The news of the theft first came to light after it was discovered missing on June 17. It appeared someone took the ATV from a shed behind Flagler Turtle Patrol’s facility in Marineland. In the time since it went missing, former Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed donated $5,000 which was combined with an anonymous contribution of $10,000 for a replacement ATV. Crime scene technicians with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office have visited the site where the ATV was discovered and are presently investigating.
“This is exactly the outcome that comes from having dedicated people in the field every single day,” said Mosquito Control Chair Mike Martin. “Our technicians know this District inch by inch because inspecting and treating mosquito habitats requires them to cover ground that most people don’t even think about. Without hesitation, John saw something and said something; this is the caliber of our entire staff.”
