Trail in the sand marks leads to finding Myrtle Beach's first sea turtle nest of 2018

A trail of crawl marks in the sand was key in finding Myrtle Beach's first sea turtle nest of 2018.

According to a Facebook post from the City of Myrtle Beach, a local beachgoer noticed the trail at 55th Avenue North on Saturday.

"Giant sea turtles return to the beach where they were born to lay eggs, nearly always at night," the post states. "When they climb out of the ocean onto the sand, they leave a distinctive crawl mark with their flippers, but sometimes the tracks can be difficult to spot."

The beachgoer then reported the partially erased crawl marks to officials who later relocated the nest once it was found.

The nest, which had 143 eggs inside, was relocated to a more secluded area at Myrtle Beach State Park, the Facebook post explains.

City officials remind beachgoers to be on the lookout for signs of turtle tracks and to take note of the location. All crawl sightings should be reported to Myrtle Beach State Park Ranger Ann Wilson at 843-238-0874.

Michaela Broyles: 843-626-0281, @MichaelaBroyles

This story was originally published June 7, 2018 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Trail in the sand marks leads to finding Myrtle Beach's first sea turtle nest of 2018."