Woman sees Virgin Mary image on her turtle

CHICAGO, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- An elderly Chicago woman says an image of the Virgin Mary has appeared on the belly of her pet turtle.

Shirley McVane said the brown image appeared after the turtle -- which McVane named Mary after the image appeared -- was purchased by her grandson as a baby, the Chicago Daily Southtown reported Thursday.

"She came to a holy house," McVane said. "I think she came to visit us so God knows she's happy and safe."

McVane's daughter, Dolly Fordyce, said the image is difficult to mistake.

"I thought we were going crazy the first time I saw it," she said. "I looked at it and said, 'It can't be.' But then I looked again. I mean, you can't deny it."

The image follows a 2005 sighting of the Virgin Mary on the wall of a Chicago underpass. City officials said the image was a stain caused by road salt.

Also among the more recent sightings of the mother of Jesus was her appearance on a grilled cheese sandwich a Florida woman sold to an Internet casino in 2004.