Turtle Island
Cases unlock in order, like levels. This is case 88 of 100.
Research station on Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, 11:05 pm. The eight giant tortoise eggs of the Floreana lineage have vanished from the incubator.
It was the first clutch of this lineage in more than a century. Outside 29 degrees, the eggs die within hours. At 9 pm they were on the tray; at 11 pm, the tray was empty.
At night the station is cut off. Only three people were nearby, and a private yacht is anchored outside the bay, waiting for daybreak.
The research station's mess hall, a fan turning slowly, maps of the islands on the wall and the dark sea outside.
Suspects
Paulina CevallosBiologist in charge of the incubator, 38
Fausto GuamánGalápagos park ranger, 45
Leonidas TapiaCaptain of the tour boat Esperanza, 58
The real case
The 185 tortoises in a suitcase in the Galápagos
Ecuador, March 2021
This case is a work of fiction. The characters, names, places and events in the game do not portray real people. The account below is a factual summary, based on public sources, of the case that served as inspiration.
In March 2021, an inspection at Baltra airport, in the Galápagos Islands, found 185 baby giant tortoises wrapped in plastic inside a suitcase bound for the mainland. Ten were already dead. A police officer who worked at the airport was detained on suspicion of involvement.
Galápagos giant tortoises are protected species and a constant target of trafficking for collectors. The case led to arrests and to tighter inspections on the islands.
The game borrows the trafficking of giant tortoises with a public official involved. The eggs, the yacht, the characters and the outcome are fiction.
Sources
Case glossary
Words from this case you might not know.
- Floreana
- One of the Galápagos Islands, whose native giant tortoise died out in the 1800s.