Ranchland News
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Phantom surgeons strike again
Sheriff Yarnell disputes CBI reports
by Monty Gaddy
Jim Trembly takes a look at an apparently mutilated cow he discovered in a grove of trees last Saturday on the Gertsch place.
No one knows who they are, where they come from, how they did it or why. But the phantom surgeons of the plains, the mysterious mutilators of livestock, have struck again. The latest incident reported to Ranchland News occurred at the old Clifford Gertsch place, located 19 miles south of Matheson.
Jim and Billie Trembly, caretakers of the property where Gertsch runs 75 head of cattle, discovered the apparent mutilation Saturday afternoon. A 5-year-old cow, weighing over 1,000 pounds, was found lying in a grove of trees about 100 yards south of the abandoned Gertsch house. Mr. Trembly estimated the cow had been dead for two days when he found it.
A circular cut about eight inches in diameter had been made around the animal's rectum, and another oblong piece of hide about six inches in length was removed from the udder area. The areas appeared to have been cut away with surgical expertise. No blood had dripped from the animal onto the sandy soil, and no footprints or unusual markings were found in the area. The meat appeared to be untouched.
Besides the classic clues pointing to a mutilation, the animal had several other unusual features. There was a substance slowly oozing from the animal's nose. "I've never heard anyone say anything about oozing from the nose in any of the mutilations I've read about," Mrs. Trembly said.
Even more peculiar was an unexplainable spot on the cow's belly where the hair had been rubbed off. Additionally, there were marks directly in front of both the left and right rear legs. Judging from the marks, it appears some sort of claw device must have pinched the hide with such intensity as to break the skin and cause bruises. Tremblys said they suspect the animal was airlifted and dropped at the point where they made the discovery.
Tremblys called the Elbert County Sheriffs office shortly after finding the dead animal Saturday afternoon. Deputy Dave Dolan of Simla was promptly dispatched to the scene. He said it was the first reported mutilation he had investigated, and was unable to draw any specific conclusions because the animal had been dead several days. "With it being several days old and already bloated, there isn't a whole lot we can do with it," Deputy Dolan said.
Years ago, in the summer, numerous mutilations were reported in Elbert and El Paso Counties. In December, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation reported of the 203 suspected cases of cattle mutilations it investigated, only 11 could definitely be attributed to something other than predators. The rest, the CBI said, were caused by predators.
Not all the cases were reported to the CBI, however. And many more ranchers didn't, and still don't, report mutilations even to their own sheriff's department.
In an exclusive interview last week with Ranchland News, Elbert County Sheriff George Yarnell said he disputes at least some of the CBI findings.
As part of his investigation into reported mutilations, Yarnell said he was instructed by the CBI to cut pieces of hide from around the mutilated area. He was told to put notches in the side he cut out, and send it in so the CBI could examine the non-notched (or mutilated) edge. "If the root hairs are cut, you know it was done with a knife," he explained.
Yarnell said he became frustrated with the CBI's 'predator caused' reports, stating, "Dang it, I was just pretty sure with my naked eye that some of them weren't (predator caused). But I'd just know what the results would be...'done by predators'! So one time I just reversed it (the notches). I got the same results."
In other words, the CBI examined the edge of the hide Yarnell cut out with his knife, and came back with a report that the cut was done by predators. "The side they said was cut by predators was absolutely the side I cut," Yarnell revealed. "I had 'em fair and square on that one."
Yarnell said he was infuriated when he received the report, and went up to CBI headquarters to talk to Carl Whiteside, who was the chief officer assigned to the mutilation investigation. "He went back to the lobby and some guy came out and they 'hemhawed' around, and I was so damned disgusted I just walked out," Yarnell said.
In a Tuesday afternoon telephone interview with Ranchland News CBI director Carl Whiteside said, concerning the above incident, "I have no way to refute that. It was obviously an oversight in our lab." He insisted each tissue sample received at the CBI lab was analyzed, however.
Whiteside said the CBI became involved in the mutilation investigation at the direction of the governor in the summer. Their investigation ended in December, Whiteside said.
Asked if he thinks the CBI was .coerced into blaming the mutilations on predators, Yarnell responded, "That I don't know. I didn't waste much time up there."
Yarnell said it's possible the CBI blamed the mutilations on predators to 'save face', and keep from admitting they were unable to solve the mystery.
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