LITTLE DUCK KEY -- Just three months after being attacked with a machete, ''Johnny,'' the endangered loggerhead sea turtle, was back where it belonged Tuesday: swimming in the Atlantic Ocean.

''I am so happy for this day,'' said Alberto Rodriguez of Miami, who scared away the turtle's attackers and called for help.

''It was a very gruesome scene, very terrible,'' Rodriguez recalled of the July 12 incident. ``I could never have left the turtle like that, but I thought it would be dead before help could arrive.''

An officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission dove under the west end of the Seven Mile Bridge, near where the turtle had been attacked, and found the machete. Evidence was sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's lab.

''We have four suspects, all from Miami-Dade,'' FWC spokesman Bobby Dube said. ``They are two sets of fishermen who don't know each other. They are pointing the finger at each other. We're trying to put all the pieces together of this puzzle.''

Under the federal Marine Turtle Protection Act, it is a third-degree felony to harass, molest, harm or kill an endangered sea turtle. Punishment is up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, Dube said.

Cheers erupted from the crowd of about 150 that gathered Tuesday at Veterans Park for the release of the turtle -- whose gender is unknown -- back into the wild.

Among them was Jack Hanna, host of Jack Hanna's Into the Wild TV show.

''We've done a lot of releases with jaguars, sea turtles, reptiles and birds all over the world,'' Hanna said. ``But this is a real special one today, because most releases are very private. There were so many people here today, some who had never seen a sea turtle before. They will tell another 300 people. Education is what it's about.''

WHAT HAPPENED

Rodriguez was fishing from the Seven Mile Bridge with a friend on the day of the attack when he looked down and saw someone whacking away with what appeared to be a machete.

The attackers realized they were being watched and took off, Rodriguez said.

''After they passed us, we looked down and saw something moving,'' he said. ``It was a turtle.''

Shortly, an ambulance from the Turtle Hospital in Marathon arrived. Its crew began treating the severely injured turtle with fluids, antibiotics and steroids to keep its brain from swelling.

The turtle had 12 slashes on its head, shell and left front flipper.

''The trickiest part is that one of the cuts went down into the brain cavity,'' said Richie Moretti, the hospital's founder. ``Our veterinarian recommended a very powerful antibiotic called chloramphenicol to treat the brain.''

The antibiotic cost $780 per week and was used for about two months.

''The heart-wrenching stories are in a sense what make the heart-warming stories even more powerful,'' said Hanna's wife, Suzi.

''We didn't know if the turtle would survive,'' said Moretti, who called Rodriguez a hero.

15-20 YEARS OLD

But Johnny quickly began to get better. After two weeks of being hand-fed squid, the turtle began to eat on its own. The wounds, cleaned daily, healed fast. Moretti said the turtle is between 15 and 20 years old and has not reached sexual maturity.

When blood work came back ''clean'' on Oct. 4, it was time to coordinate Johnny's release. The ambulance drove Johnny the 10 miles back to Veterans Park, where the attack occurred.

After Johnny tried to bite its releasers -- which Moretti said was a good sign because that's how turtles defend themselves -- Johnny was placed back in familiar waters.

Instead of heading out to sea as expected, Johnny swam parallel to the beach, making a beeline toward the waters under the Seven Mile Bridge with several kids running alongside to get a last glimpse of the ''cool'' creature.

''I bet you she was heading for her honey-hole spot full of lobsters,'' Moretti said. ``She was going to have a little lunch.''

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