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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 2019)
A5 THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 Mysterious deaths of bulls are roiling Oregon ranch country By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press Silvies Valley Ranch A Hereford bull lies dead in Burns. It is one of fi ve apparently healthy bulls that were found dead and with sex organs and tongues removed. Authorities suspect the bizarre deaths and mutilations were human caused, but have no leads. The deaths of the bulls recall mutilations of livestock across the West and Midwest in the 1970s that struck fear in rural areas, and caused people to carry guns. New Mexico were found dead with their reproductive organs and sometimes part of their faces removed. Ranchers began carrying guns. Folks said helicopters had been heard around the kill sites. A federal agency canceled an inventory by helicopter of its lands in Colorado, worried that it would get shot down. A couple of U.S. sena- tors urged the FBI to investi- gate, according to FBI docu- ments. After saying it lacked jurisdiction, the FBI agreed to investigate cases on tribal lands. But the mutilations stopped. Former FBI agent Ken- neth Rommel, who headed the investigation, said there was no indication that any- thing other than common predators were responsible. Cases have emerged spo- radically since then. In the 1980s, a few cows were found dead and mutilated in eastern Oregon. More recently, there have been cases on a ranch near Flag- staff, Arizona. Some of the mutilations THE THEORIES RANGE FROM SCAVENGERS SUCH AS CARRION BUGS EATING THE CARCASSES TO PEOPLE ATTACK- ING THE ANIMALS TO CAUSE FINANCIAL HARM TO RANCHERS. can be attributed to natu- ral causes. An animal drops dead, the blood pools at the bottom of the carcass, it bloats, and the skin dries out and splits. The tears often appear surgical. Car- rion bugs, birds and other scavengers go for the soft tissues. Dave Bohnert, director of Oregon State Universi- ty’s Eastern Oregon Agri- cultural Research Center in Burns, said he believes peo- ple killed the most recent bulls because there is no indication they were felled by predators or had eaten poisonous plants. However, the state of the carcasses could be attribut- able to nature, said Bohnert, who is not offi cially investi- gating the case. If people killed the bulls, a motive could be to fi nan- cially harm the ranch, he said, noting that breeding bulls cost thousands of dol- lars each, and the 100-plus calves each of them sire are collectively worth much more. Marshall doubts it was a malicious attack on the ranch, which employs 75 people, many from local communities. Silvies Val- ley Ranch covers 140,000 acres of deeded and leased National Forest lands around a mile above sea level. In 2006, a wealthy vet- erinarian bought the ranch and made it a combination working ranch and an elite destination resort. It has four golf courses, a spa, shooting ranges, fi shing and luxury cabins going for up to $849 per night. Marshall suspects the bulls were killed to get the organs of the free-ranging bulls for some reason. The bull parts would be available cheaply or free at a slaugh- terhouse, but he believes some people are going to a lot of trouble to get these parts on the range. There’s no sign that scav- Astoria Band Boosters CAN & BOTTLE DRIVE 1 P.M.- 3 P.M. • SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6 TH AT ASTORIA HIGH SCHOOL Ch ec k th e L a b e l ! SALEM — The fi rst dead bull was found in a timbered ravine in Eastern Oregon. There was no indication it had been shot, attacked by predators or eaten poison- ous plants. The animal’s sex organs and tongue had been removed. All the blood was gone. In the next few days, four more Hereford bulls were found within 1.5 miles in the same condition. There were no tracks around the carcasses. Ranch management and law enforcement sus- pect that someone killed the bulls. Ranch hands have been advised to travel in pairs and to go armed. Ever since the bulls were found over several days in July, Harney County sher- iff’s Deputy Dan Jenkins has received many calls and emails from people specu- lating what, or who, might be responsible. The theories range from scavengers such as carrion bugs eating the carcasses to people attacking the animals to cause fi nancial harm to ranchers. Jenkins, who is leading the investigation that also involves state police, has run into only dead ends and has no witnesses. “If anyone has concrete information or knows of any cases that have been solved in the past, that would defi - nitely be helpful,” he said. Colby Marshall, vice president of the Silvies Val- ley Ranch that owned the bulls, has another theory: “We think that this crime is being perpetuated by some sort of a cult.” The case recalls muti- lations of livestock across the U.S. West and Midwest in the 1970s that struck fear in rural areas. Thousands of cattle and other livestock ranging from Minnesota to engers removed the organs of the bulls, and instead someone using a knife or scalpel probably did, Mar- shall said. “To lose a completely healthy animal would be an oddity,” Marshall said. “To lose fi ve young, very healthy, in great shape, per- fect bulls that are all basi- cally the same age ... that is so outside the bounds of normal activity.” Marshall speculates the bulls were darted with a tranquilizer that knocked them out. While some peo- ple acted as lookouts, oth- ers bled the animals out by inserting a large-gauge needle into the tongue and into an artery, then removed the organs after the heart stopped beating, he surmised. Jenkins, the deputy, has a similar theory. “Personally, I would lean more toward the occult, where people for whatever reason — whether it’s a phase of the moon or what- ever rituals they’re going to do with their beliefs — are coming to different areas and doing that,” he said. The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association is offering a $1,000 reward for infor- mation leading to the con- viction of those responsi- ble. The ranch is offering $25,000. P LEASE , NO EARLY DROP - OFFS Items must have the 10 cent, OR redemption label in order to benefit the band programs The Band Boosters are the primary source of funds to keep Astoria’s school band programs functioning. Please help by dropping off your empties or making a donation. Call (503) 791-8134 or email i_want_to_help@astoriabands.org for more information. RD TH TH 3 Big Days of Savings! October 3 RD • 4 TH • 5 TH ! F F O 20% all the meat you can fit in a bag! Where the r u o t u o Check p u k c o t s d o o f d canne ! w o n n o g n i o g sale 191 S. Main Ave., Warrenton facebook.com/MainStMarket 503-861-2271 Meat Lovers Shop! Like us on facebook.com/MainStMarket www.mainstselect.com