By Steve Huffman
Salisbury Post
Tina the Turkey has flown the coop.
Which is probably a good thing, though no one apparently knows what became of her.
“I don’t have a clue,” said Dale Gray, a telecommunicator at the N.C. Highway Patrol Station, when asked about the turkey.
The Post last month profiled the tale of Tina. She was a wild turkey who’d taken up residence along U.S. 29 near the highway’s intersection with Webb Road.
The big bird staked out the parking lot of several local businesses ó the Hot Spot, a convenience store, Be Bops, a restaurant, and the Highway Patrol station.
Those who observed her said the bird would wander from one place to another, often narrowly avoiding being struck by a car or truck.
Gray said he watched the bird for more than two weeks, but said it disappeared not long after the story about her appeared in the Post.
Gray and others in the area said they saw no signs of her being hit by a vehicle and said they have no idea if she flew away or was caught and turned into turkey salad.
“I still have a 5-pound bag of bird feed I need to get rid of,” Gray said.
Jessica Bradley, an assistant manager at the Hot Spot, said she thought the bird disappeared the day after becoming a local celebrity in the Post.
If the bird was somehow caught (those who watched her said she refused to let anyone close to her), it likely wasn’t the work of anyone from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.
Sgt. Tony Sharum said the commission’s policy is to leave wild animals alone.
Contact Steve Huffman at 704-797-4222 or shuffman@salisburypost.com.