Source: Wxii12.com
Nearly 200 beef cows have been stolen from an Alamance County farm, and state investigators are seeking leads from people who may have information on the suspect behind the large-scale cattle rustling.
The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case of missing black Angus cattle — 114 cows and 75 calves — stolen from K-Farms on Crawford Road in Graham sometime between March and mid-April.
“We believe an employee may have stolen them during this period,” said Special Agent Gerald Thomas, who has been investigating the case after it was turned over to the SBI from the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office.
The top breed beef cows are valued at $2,800 each and the calves at $700 apiece, resulting in a value of $371,700.
The owner of the farm, Ronald Kirkpatrick, is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of cattle and the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the larceny.
According to an Alamance County Sheriff’s Office incident report, Kirkpatrick reported the larceny April 20 and suspected that a man he had hired to take care of the cattle had stolen the animals.
At the beginning of January, a herd count of the cattle indicated all of the animals were accounted for, though during a recount April 12, Kirkpatrick “discovered that most of his cattle were missing,” the report stated.
After the most recent count was done, Kirkpatrick told a deputy they “discovered approximately 30-40 cheaper grade cows in the field” and believed the suspect “was taking the good cattle and replacing some of them with cheaper cattle so no one would notice.”
Thomas said the SBI is asking anyone who has purchased Black Angus cows recently in Alamance County — most likely without knowing they were stolen — to contact him about from whom the cattle were purchased.
Thomas can be reached at 336-256-1362.
For reward information, call 336-213-7246. A flier about the reward says, “All information received will remain confidential.”
Nearly 200 beef cows have been stolen from an Alamance County farm, and state investigators are seeking leads from people who may have information on the suspect behind the large-scale cattle rustling.
The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case of missing black Angus cattle — 114 cows and 75 calves — stolen from K-Farms on Crawford Road in Graham sometime between March and mid-April.
“We believe an employee may have stolen them during this period,” said Special Agent Gerald Thomas, who has been investigating the case after it was turned over to the SBI from the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office.
The top breed beef cows are valued at $2,800 each and the calves at $700 apiece, resulting in a value of $371,700.
The owner of the farm, Ronald Kirkpatrick, is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of cattle and the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the larceny.
According to an Alamance County Sheriff’s Office incident report, Kirkpatrick reported the larceny April 20 and suspected that a man he had hired to take care of the cattle had stolen the animals.
At the beginning of January, a herd count of the cattle indicated all of the animals were accounted for, though during a recount April 12, Kirkpatrick “discovered that most of his cattle were missing,” the report stated.
After the most recent count was done, Kirkpatrick told a deputy they “discovered approximately 30-40 cheaper grade cows in the field” and believed the suspect “was taking the good cattle and replacing some of them with cheaper cattle so no one would notice.”
Thomas said the SBI is asking anyone who has purchased Black Angus cows recently in Alamance County — most likely without knowing they were stolen — to contact him about from whom the cattle were purchased.
Thomas can be reached at 336-256-1362.
For reward information, call 336-213-7246. A flier about the reward says, “All information received will remain confidential.”
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