Elsa, a loggerhead sea turtle tagged by OCEARCH, has being swimming around the Treasure Coast lately.<\/p>\n
The adult female, who measures 3 feet, recently pinged off Vero Beach on Sept. 18 at 1:57 p.m.<\/p>\n
Elsa was tagged off Juno Beach on May 22, 2026, by OCEARCH<\/a>, a global nonprofit that tags marine mammals with an online tracker<\/a> for researchers’ studies.<\/p>\n She was fitted with a satellite transmitter for a study on sea turtle dive behavior and how it influences their susceptibility to boat strikes.<\/p>\n More on sea turtles: Nesting, what to know, how to help, what’s illegal in Florida<\/a><\/p>\n Where has OCEARCH tracked Elsa?June 2026 in photos: Big ships, Mrs. Universe, summer heat and more<\/p>\n 1 of 6<\/p>\n A loggerhead sea turtle makes her way to the ocean after laying eggs during a night turtle walk with the Hobe Sound Nature Center on June 18, 2026, just north of the Hobe Sound Beach. The image was taken while using a red light with a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission permit. (CRYSTAL VANDER WEIT\/TCPALM)<\/p>\n The northernmost point Elsa has been tracked to is off Barefoot Bay in Brevard County, at 8:02 p.m. Aug. 5, 2026, according to OCEARCH’s website. The southernmost point was off Boca Raton at 8:31 p.m. July 10, 2026.<\/p>\n Elsa has pinged off the coast of Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties, according to OCEARCH’s tracker.<\/p>\n Elsa has been in the area of Indian River County recently with some of her latest pings being Sept. 14: at 4:51 a.m. off Vero Beach and at 8:51 a.m. off Indian River Shores.<\/p>\n She has also been in the area of St. Lucie County with her last ping off Fort Pierce at 6:13 a.m. Aug. 21, 2026.<\/p>\n To see Elsa’s full tracking history visit ocearch.org\/tracker\/detail\/elsa<\/a>.<\/p>\n Olivia Franklin<\/a> is TCPalm’s trending and breaking news reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5<\/a>.<\/p>\n