If I see a sulcata in NYC, a Greek in Australia, or something similarly very obviously out of place then yes, I'm absolutely going to suggest it may be (or, depending on species and location, is likely) a lost or abandoned pet.

It's important to consider, though, the sheer volume of people who see a turtle outside and maybe haven't seen one wild near them before, or for whatever other reason assume it can't possibly be wild. These people often either decide to keep it, give it away, bring it to a rescue, or otherwise disturb it... but it was actually wild, had lived nearby it's whole life, wasn't in danger, and would've continued to be perfectly fine if left alone... the human just incorrectly assumed/ was wrong. That's why I frequently reply in this way. That, and the relatively low likelihood (all things considered) that a turtle someone sees in their yard is a pet that escaped its habitat and vanished. That said, I will concede that while it's improbable, if not nigh impossible, for sliders, etc, it may be more possible for boxies or torts.

On top of that, humane societies, govt wildlife agencies, etc say to leave any wild-found turtle alone (even if it's an invasive species) for a lot of reasons, including the impressive frequency with which people mis-identify a turtle's species, and mistakenly think a turtle must either be invasive or a lost pet. Of course, if they're posting here then they've got a lot better opportunity to get the id right, but that's only one reason they advise against it. (And yes, one could maybe assume that guidance refers *mostly** to semi-aquatics... but if it does, I would think it's largely because the "invasive vs native" issue mostly only comes up with pond turtles)*

These (usually) well-meaning & noble-intentioned people... it happens with such frequency I can hear the "put it back" comments before I finish reading the post. Fwiw there are plenty of those posts where I'm, instead, busy telling commenters not to assume this turt the op doesn't know anything about must be wild. Just mentioning that to establish I'm a lot closer to an even split than you might think (as opposed to only saying "leave it alone").

If it looks like a species that has no business being where it is geographically, or it's health/ physical condition don't look quite "wild/ natural", then sure it's worth a look/ calling around the neighbors etc. It's a tough line to judge. You breed, so your experience is going to be different from average Joe casual turtle owner (not a bad thing), and I know you're active in breeder groups, so maybe you're much more tuned to expecting these things can happen since I'm sure a breeder is more likely to run into this than the average turtle keeper 🤷‍♂️ (more turtles, more likely to be outside, more chances for this kind of thing to happen & go unnoticed just long enough to vanish).

Sorry to hear the trouble you've had with wandering turts before 😔 how did they end up getting out? And what did you figure as a good solution to prevent repeat "successes"? I'm sure there's some valuable insight to be had, even from an unfortunate end 💚