Detectives from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office are still actively investigating the recent theft and slaughter of a mare quarter horse near Bushnell.
The incident took place after the horse was taken from a pasture along State Road 471. The remains of the horse were found nearby in December.
This past Saturday, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation into a similar theft and slaughter of a horse. Sumter County detectives also are working with investigators from other jurisdictions in Florida who have encountered similar incidents.
Detectives also are still seeking information about the horse theft and slaughter in Sumter County, as well as other suspicious incidents at equestrian/livestock properties. The Sheriff’s Office has teamed with Crimeline to offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the suspects. Anyone with information about the crime or those involved is asked to contact Detective A. Dodge at (352) 793-2621 or Crimeline 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).
In January, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office upped the award to $5,000 for information leading the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for killing the horse near Bushnell. That same month, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office refuted social media reports claiming horses had been slaughtered in the Sorrento area, saying they had responded to a complaint of a vehicle that fit the description of one seen in another county where the crimes took place but didn’t locate it.
In December, a warning was issued about the horse thefts after the crimes were reported in Sumter, Marion and Manatee counties. It was believed that the horses were being harvested for meat in Palmetto. At the time, a photo of a suspect who was considered a person of interest in one of the Manatee County cases was released, though it wasn’t known if that person was possibly involved in any of the other horse killings.
