No oil contamination evidence found in 5 turtles

GULFPORT, Miss. – Necropsies completed on five of at least 30 dead sea turtles found along Mississippi beaches in the past few days show no evidence of oil killing the reptiles.

Brian Gorman of the National Marine Fisheries Service in Gulfport, Miss., said Monday that no evidence of oil or contamination has been found. But he says that doesn't mean further analysis won't reveal something.

The carcasses are badly decomposed. Gorman says necropsies on the remaining turtles are currently being performed.

At least six of the turtles are the endangered Kemp's ridley, which breed nowhere else in the world but on beaches in Mexico and southern Texas. They're considered among the most imperiled turtle species.