Missing: 180 cows have disappeared along the Western Slope, ranchers report
The cows, mostly calves, were last seen grazing on national forest land southwest of Montrose
Hugh Carey/The Colorado Sun
Officials are investigating the disappearance of 180 cattle after several ranchers along the Western Slope reporting them missing.
The multicolored cattle, mostly calves, were last seen grazing on national forest land along Uncompahgre Plateau, southwest of Montrose, before their owners reported them missing, Sgt. Chuck Searcy with the Montrose County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
“When they bring them down off the mountain for winter, that’s when they start counting them and going through,” Searcy said.
Whether cattle thieves are to blame is unknown. The sheriff’s office is in the beginning stages of its investigation and working to determine if a person or group of people is responsible for the heifers’ disappearance. The Uncompahgre Plateau sits at an average of 9,500 feet in elevation and covers 1.5 million acres, or more than 2,300 square miles.
Read more from Olivia Prentzel at ColoradoSun.com
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