Turtle Dilemma

On nice days we walk the railroad tracks to the post office and back, a two-mile jaunt with the camera. A few days ago we found this painted turtle between the rails and a long way from any chance of escaping its iron prison, which extended for a half mile in either direction.
After taking its picture and noting a scar on its shell that might have been from a coyote's canine, we decided to intervene on the return home, if the turtle was still trapped.
As we walked, we considered the probability that our choice of placing the turtle outside of the tracks would coincide with the turtle's intended destination. The raised track bed ran through a wet area containing a wandering creek. If we liberated the turtle only to place it even further away from its intended destiny, what additional trials and tribulations would it suffer?
Well, we will never know. Our return up the track found no turtle.