Date of event: 9/6/2013
Time: Between 3:00 a.m and 8:00 a.m.
Location: 200-acre ranch in Gasconade County, Missouri
Witnesses: Anonymous - Engineer and rancher, and his father
Weather: 73 degrees, Clear, Wind 5.8mph from the South
Investigator: Margie Kay (margiekay06@yahoo.com)
Note: All but one photo has been omitted due to their graphic nature.
The witness contacted me on 9/10/2013 after finding our website www.animute.blogspot.com. He found a 6-year old healthy Black Angus cow who was pregnant- dead on the morning of the 6th at 9:00 a.m. He had gone to his ranch to check on his cattle as he normally does every day when he noticed that the entire herd was standing in a circle looking at something. He approached, the herd dispersed, and he saw a cow lying on the ground with her head facing east and her legs pointing North. The animal was still warm to the touch, the blood had not clotted, and rigor had not set in yet, so he estimated that the animal had been dead only four to six hours. The witness said that it is not normal to find a cow dead of natural causes with all four legs pointing straight.
The witness then called the Gasconade County Sheriff, who sent a deputy to the location to take a report. The deputy said that the cow obviously did not die of natural causes but could offer no explanation.
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| Photo copyright 2013 by the rancher |
MUTILATION: The rancher took photos of the animal, then checked and found that the tongue had been cut out below the esophagus, which he said would be very difficult to do even for a trained person. He searched for bullet holes but found none, and then skinned the skull area in order to determine if there was a bullet hole but found none, nor was there a hole in the neck. Two teats were cut off, and a large section of the head around the jaw was removed with hide, muscle, and tissue gone, including the gums, and very little blood was found on the site. He could find no scratches or cut marks on the bone. There was also a cut out section in the vaginal area. The witness, who has veterinary training and worked in a meat packing plant when he was younger, said that the cuts were made with surgical precision and that there should have been much more blood on the scene.
There were no signs of a struggle as if the animal thrashed around, however, there is a circular flattened area in the area immediately surrounding the cow.
NO ANIMALS OR BUZZARDS HAVE EATEN ON THE COW TO DATE (9-11-2013). The rancher knows there are cougars, coyotes and buzzards on the property but none have touched the mutilated cow, which is not normal.
DEAD LARVAE: The rancher found dead blow fly larvae falling off of the cow. I told him this indicated possible contamination and to be very careful. As of the 10th there were no maggots, but on the 11th there were.
CALF: The cow's 300lb. calf, who had been milking, has now suddenly become blind. There is no indication of pink eye or other health problems. They may take a blood sample of the calf.
HELICOPTER: On Sunday the 8th, the witness was in his barn while feeding the steers and heard a loud racket outside above the barn. When he went outside a very low flying helicopter with no visible markings was flying over his property. He thought it odd that the rotor on the craft was about 10' above the body and it did not look normal. This is the first time a helicopter has flown low over his property (approx 100' or less). Ft. Leonard Wood is nearby and he often sees aircraft but this was unusual.
On the 10th the rancher noticed a very horrible smell from the gate of the ranch, which is the only entrance to the property and is located 1/2 mile from the location of the mutilated cow. The smell was more like a dead human than a dead cow. This has now dissipated.
This is the first time anything like this has happened as far as his ranch is concerned, and the first time his father has seen anything like this. They have both been ranchers their entire lives. The witness is 65 years of age and his father is in his 80s. However, the witness stated that a calf was found dead on the property two weeks prior after seeing buzzards flying around, and that he did not examine the animal at the time due to its severe state of decomposition but now wonders if it was also mutilated.
The witness asked his neighbors who live near the ranch if they saw anything unusual but they did not.
This case is still under investigation.
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