176 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
176 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
SUBJECT: CATTLE DEATHS UNEXPLAINED FILE: UFO3260
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CATTLE DEATHS UNEXPLAINED IN DEKALB, MARSHALL COUNTIES
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The Weekly Post, Feb. 4, 1993.
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By STEPHEN SMITH
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Something is happening to livestock in the area that farmers cannot
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explain. The phenomena is commonly referred to as cattle mutilation. The
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classic mutilation scenario is a startling sight for farmers. The animal is
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found dead with individual eyes, organs, tongues, teeth, and sex organs
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removed. The parts are usually cut away with a circular incision, and blood is
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seldom visible on or near the animal. Between eight to 10 such mutilations have
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occurred in Marshall County, primarily in the Ablertville area. Chief of
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Detectives Tommy Cole said that those incidents cannot be explained. "We can't
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determine what has happened to the animals," he said. "The ground is not
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disturbed, and no markings are found." Cole himself was a victim, losing a
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black angus steer to the mutilations. Sixteen different tests were conducted by
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Auburn University on the animal, but the cause of death could not be
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determined. Within the last few weeks, the mutilations have moved across the
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county line into DeKalb. On January 16, Margaret Pope discovered a cow behind
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their home around 7 a.m. "I wasn't surprised to see her dead," Mrs. Pope said,
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"because she was in bad shape the day before." At the time, Mrs. Pope assumed
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that coyotes had attacked the animal. However, after hearing of the events in
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Marshall County, she realized that their cow's death fit the pattern. "A
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four-inch round circle was gone out of her shoulder," she says. "Just the skin
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and hair was gone, no meat. Her upper and lower teeth were cut out with a
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clean cut, and her milk sac was gone." There have also been mutilations near
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Lathamville, between Peek's Corner and Lebanon, and near Dawson. The Dawson
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incident was discovered last Saturday. A black angus cow was found by a farmer
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in his pasture, the flesh of its jaw stripped away to the bone and its tongue
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removed. The animal's colon and sex organs had also been cored out. This
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particular carcass had a light-colored powder and paste on and around it. The
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substance would immediately turn into a milky liquid when it contacted metal.
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Investigators could not explain the origin or nature of the substance. The
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latest in the series of mutilations was discovered Tuesday morning in the
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pasture of a Grove Oak farmer. Three head of cattle were discovered dead, two
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of which `fit the pattern of the current mutilations,' according to a local
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veterinarian who examined the animals.
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The flesh from the jawbone of one of the animals was completely
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stripped away, clean down to the bone. The other had its colon and
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sex organs cored out, and well as its milk sac removed.
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Investigators fear that many animals which have been mutilated in
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DeKalb and Marshall counties have been destroyed by the farmers and
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the incident not reported. Many are likely concerned that public
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ridicule would follow, and do not wish to make the names or the
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incident known.
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Investigators understand their concerns, and are willing to work
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with farmers to ensure anonymity. "We still need to gather evidence
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in a timely manner, to actually take tissue samples from the mutilated
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animals," says Officer Ted Oliphant of the Fyffe Police Department.
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Oliphant is handling anonymous reports of mutilations.
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"While we encourage everyone who has had this happen to one of
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their animals to immediately contact their local law enforcement
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agency," says Oliphant, "we understand that many will still be
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reluctant to do so."
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Investigations into the mutilations are being headed by DeKalb
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County Assistant Chief Deputy Dale Orr. He may be contacted at
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854-3801. Oliphant may be reached at 623-2222 or 623-1057. In
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Marshall County, mutilations should be reported to Tommy Cole,
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Albertville Police Department, at 878-1212.
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"To assist those wishing to remain anonymous," Oliphant says,
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"an alternative reporting procedure has been extablished. All we
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want to do is get tissue samples, take photographs, gather evidence
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quickly, and be on our way.
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"We believe that the farmers still want to know what has happened
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to their animals," Oliphant continued. "If requested, no police
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reports will be gathered and anonymity will be guaranteed."
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Oliphant says that certain facts about the mutilations lead to
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uncertain conclusions. "Evidence of high heat around the cuts suggests
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the probability of electro-cauterization, and rules out the possibility
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of predatory animals.
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"In many cases," Oliphant continued, "the mutilators match or
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exceed current surgical technology. In the body tissue, evidence of
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high heat, above 350 degrees, has caused rapid cell destruction. The
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blood has been thoroughly removed from some of the animals and, to date,
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pathology examinations have not revealed the cause of death."
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In many cases, there are no footprints or tracks of any kind on the
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ground where the mutilations have occurred. "Mutilation really isn't
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a proper term for what's happening to these animals," Oliphant says.
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"This is high-technology surgery being performed in the field without
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being witnessed and leaving little evidence behind, other than the
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carcasses."
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End of Article.
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INVESTIGATORS BAFFELED AS CATTLE MUTILATIONS CONTINUE
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By Stephen Smith
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Investigations into the mysterious deaths of cattle throughout DeKalb
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and Marshall counties have yielded few clues for local authorities.
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The number of strange mutilations has now risen to 21.
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Number 20 was discovered in the New Harmony area of Marshall County
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last Thursday, Feb 4. Among those responding to the scene were Sheriff
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Harold Richards and Assistant Chief Deputy Dale Orr of the DeKalb
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Sheriff's Office, Chief of Detectives Tommy Cole of the Ablertville
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Police Department, Alabama State Trooper Post Comander Sgt. Ron Ogletree,
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and Ted Oliphant of the Fyffe Police Department.
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In the pasture of Waynon Buttram, a cow was found which had its jaw
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stripped of flesh in a circle. According to Oliphant, a large amount of
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blood was present on both the animal and the ground around it, indicating
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that the animal was still alive during the mutilation.
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The cow was moved to a laboratory for a full autopsy, but preliminary
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analysis failed to show what had killed the animal. Samples of tissue and
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fluid from this same cow have been sent to a different laboratory in hopes
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of unveiling a part of the mystery.
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A second set of laboratory results of an autopsy performed by an Albert-
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ville veterinarian and the Auburn University of an earlier case again failed
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to reveal the cause of death.
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A total of three different laborabories are now being used to analyze
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various pieces of evidence which are being collected at the scenes of the
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mutilations.
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The most recent mutilation was discovered Saturday morning in the
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Crossville area. Three local officers responded to a call from a farmer
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who had found a young calf dead, lying within 25 feet of TVA high voltage
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lines and within 75 feet of a TVA high-voltage tower. Many mutilations
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have occurred in close proximity to such power lines.
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The responding officers felt the animal had been killed by predators,
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and did not file a report. However, Oliphant arrived on the scene shortly
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after the three officers departed, and discovered that straight-line
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incisions had been made on the right back side of the animal.
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Inside the body cavity, Oliphant found that the trachea and esophagus
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had been cut evenly, "as if with scissors," says Oliphant. Approximately
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seven inches of the tissue was missing.
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"An overview of the body showed that a large oval of flesh and hide
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had been removed," Oliphant said, adding that the farmer agreed it did not
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appear to be the work of a predatory animal.
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A veterinarian was called to the scene the following day and examined
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the dead calf. "He determined that the calf had absolutely not been killed
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by a predator," Oliphant said. "He said that he couldn't tell what had
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killed the animal."
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Another mystery linked to the cattle mutilations is the unexplained
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presence of helicopters in the area where the mutilations occur. The
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Crossville farmer whose calf was mutilated told investigators that the
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sound of helicopters in the vicinity of his field woke him up in the
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early hours of Wednesday morning, Feb. 3.
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"This man used to fly helicopters in Vietnam," Oliphant related,
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"and he should well know what one sounds like."
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Also, investigators of the New Harmony mutilation witnessed a
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helicopter flying over the field as they studied the scene. When an
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autopsy of the animal was being performed at a laboratory, a black
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helicopter was seen flying directly over the facility.
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"Various types and colors of helicopters continue to be seen in
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the vicninity of these incidents," Oliphant related. The federal
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Aviation Administration has not confirmed the indentification of any
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of these aircraft.
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The New Harmony mutilated cow was the first one actually viewed
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by Orr or Ogletree. "It was truly like nothing I've ever seen done
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to an animal," Ogletree commented.
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"It's strange," Orr said. "I've never seen anything like it."
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Ogletree added that one of the more perplexing aspects of the
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incident was the lack of any evidence surrounding the animal.
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"You've got a 1,200 pound cow," he said, "and yet there are no
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visible signs of a struggle."
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The investigation into these strange occurrences is continuing,
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and farmers are urged to report mutilations to one of the authorities
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handling the case. Names will be withheld from public record for
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those wishing to remain anonymous.
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Orr may be contacted at 845-3801; Oliphant at 623-2222 or 623-1057;
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and Cole at 878-1212.
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End of Article...
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