Sheriff Joe Arpaio is mobilizing his mounted posse to the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest to search for additional evidence in the shooting death of a wild horse this past weekend in the Salt River area known as Pirates Island.
Witnesses described a suspect shooting at three horses with a shot gun or rifle. Only one deceased horse, a young foal that was shot, has been found as of today. Sheriff Arpaio said the mounted posse will be on the ground as early as tomorrow. John Schill of the Schill Law Group is offering a $1000.00 reward for information leading to an arrest in this case.
A year ago, a reward was offered for information when another Salt River wild horse, Dotty, was found dead of shotgun wounds.
“This is a crime that goes beyond animal cruelty,” said Sheriff Joe Arpaio. “Killing an innocent horse is as dangerous as it is disturbing. What else is this person capable of doing? We need to end this senseless slaughter of wild horses.”
The suspect is believed to be a male, wearing black shorts or underwear and dark green shirt. Witnesses’ saw at least two other persons with suspect at time of shooting. There are no descriptions of these two additional persons.
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded to the call on Friday at around 6 p.m. and scoured the area enlisting the help of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office aviation division. They searched the area for hours but were not able to locate a subject matching the description.
On Saturday October 22nd a dead Salt River horse was located in the area of the shooting. Deputies said the mother horse was standing near a dead foal when they arrived. Deputies from the Animal Crimes Unit were called out to the scene along with a Veterinarian. The foal, about 7 to 10 months old, had gunshot wounds to the side of his neck and head.
Rep. Kelly Townsend, who worked with agencies and organizations dedicated to protecting the horse this past legislative session stated, “When these people kill the Salt River Wild Horses, they take part of what the public enjoys, so in essence they are stealing from the community. The people of our community have had enough of this and woe to the person who is eventually brought to justice.”