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: FEMORU To: Sanetor, Jorn Ryan Janusy 3l,1979 FROX:SFDOH Suesecr: Steer sutilation, Jannary 29, 1e7?, Torrance Couty, il . Sergeant O'deil of thc Torrance County Sheriff's Deparrent called the. Albugucrgue Office early in the afternocn of January 29, l97s, to report that he has ciscovered the first reported cattle sutilation in Torrance County, and wanted inforsation on whc he should report it to. srpox called O'Dell and was told the following: .In response to a telcphcne call fron Sanauel n. Hinii, C'dell arrived at a locarion near the villege cf Duran, lt, at apprexirateiy ll a.n. on Januasy 29. l979. and found ths carcass of a six ronth oid steer thst had apparently been secentiy mutilated. O'Dell said tbs carcass vas still war. enough to relt the snow around it. O'Dell indicated that ha had been follcwing news reports of previous autilstions in Rio Arriba County and believed that the Torrance County sutiiation was the *freshest" ever discovered. Ee calles because he thought it would le lelpful for investigators to have a fresh ruti- lation to csacine and subject to tests.. _O'Dell said the steer's serotus and penis nad bten reroved with sugical precisicn -- a feature cczson to all previous zutilations -- and insicated that patchcs cf hair arowd tho carcass seened to insicate that the steer had been rropged or bousced -- another feature coscon to all previous nutilations.. The steer's intestires had bcen rezoved throvgh the boie where the scrotun had been cut out, but vere not disturbed. O'lell felt that an anirai would have gona directly to the intestires. The steer's tcngue wes not rensved as in previous sutilations, bst ths insices of th.e ears appeared to have been "beveled' out with a sharp instrurent.. O'Dell notified the state Game and Fish Dapastment, ths State Folice Crine Iab in Santa Fe, and the liew Hexico Livestock 3oard. The State Police Crime Lub apparently notifiei State Police Officer Gabe Valdez of Chars, the officer who hes investigates nost of the putilations cver the past 13 sonths. In the. interin, the Livestock 3oard renoved the carcass and apparently froze it. Valdez. later contscted the Torranse County Shsriff ane was to have gone to Torrance *aoesggsaaug c 0 anueg o Aomee - were Ciscovered on the Sicarilla Apache Keseryation:. and seven on the Santa. Clara Pueblo. There heve Been s totar of~69 cattle putilations. and six horse sutilations. reported in New Mexico since ls7s. Forty-five of the cattle sutilations ans four of ths horse cutilations occurree in l978.