JUNO BEACH, Fla. — An endangered loggerhead sea turtle was released Monday morning into the Atlantic Ocean from a Florida beach nearly three months after being hit by a boat.

The adult female, named Swim Shady, returned the wild behind the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, just north of Palm Beach.

Dr. Heather Barron, the center's chief science officer and veterinarian, said such occasions bring a lot of joy to the community.

““It’s a beautiful day out here today, and not surprising there were a lot of people who showed up for the event," Barron said. "I think people really identify with that sense of going home and freedom and recovering from illness or injury.”

The reptile weighed about 268 pounds in August when Inwater Research Group found her stranded with buoyancy is

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