Family Cleans Their Home and Finds the Pet That Has Been Missing for 30 Years

We all know the pain of losing something precious to us, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Other times, it may take hours, days, and even years to find them. That was the situation for this family who rediscovered something they last saw 30 years ago.

The Almeida family had a pet tortoise that lived with them in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1982, some construction workers did a renovation job on their home. Unfortunately, they opened the front door and left it ajar for way too long.

The tortoise was a red-footed one named Manuela. After the family’s effort to find her proved futile, they all concluded that she had slipped through the open door and disappeared into the forest nearby.

Lionel Almeida, the family’s patriarch, passed away in January 2013. This was 30 years after Manuela went missing. 

From numerous old records to broken electronics, old furniture, and much more, Lionel’s storage room was jam-packed with clutter. The junk took up too much space in the house, and the Almeida children knew it was time to get rid of it.

As the children cleaned, Leandro, Lionel’s son, picked up a box with an old record player. He was heading straight to the dumpster when his neighbor asked him if he would throw the tortoise away, too.

Leandro was astonished when he looked closer at the box and saw Manuela poking out of a hole. “I put the box on the pavement for the rubbish men to collect, and a neighbor said, ‘You’re not throwing out the tortoise as well, are you?’ I looked and saw her,” he told Brazil’s Globo TV.

Lionel’s daughter, Lenita Almeida, has been Manuela’s real owner since she was a little girl. Seeing her lovely pet after so many years was a dream come true for her. 

For the family, finding Manuela was like uncovering an expensive surprise Christmas gift. It was the consolation they never thought they would get after losing their dear father.

Lenita was also surprised that Manuela survived 30 years without the food, love, care, and attention she needed to thrive. “No one can understand how she managed to survive for 30 years in there; it’s just unbelievable,” she said.  

When the story broke out in 2013, many people thought it was made up. They couldn’t believe a tortoise could stay alive outside its natural habitat without food, air, and water for so long.

Manuela reunited with her family and enjoyed getting acquainted with the newest members. Tortoises are amazing animals with a slow but steady approach to life that humans can learn from.