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San Joaquin County Sheriff's investigators are trying to figure out who dumped the bodies of five dead calves along the Stanislaus River in Ripon.
The calves were discovered Tuesday with nooses around their necks along Moncure Road. Neighbors told the Ripon Police Department the smell had been lingering for weeks.
"People riding their mountain bikes or walking or jogging along the Stanislaus River - one person told us they thought it might be dogs, another person told us it was definitely cattle," said Sgt. Steve Merchant of the Ripon Police Department.
Officers knew there was something decomposing along the Stanislaus River, but weren't sure of where it was coming from.
"Once we narrowed down the location, we sent units out on three separate occasions to try and find the deceased animals but we couldn't locate them on the ground," said Merchant.
So, Sgt. Merchant took to the sky in Ripon's powered parachute Tuesday morning. It's a flying contraption that looks like a cross between a go-cart and funny car, from up above Merchant quickly found the source of the smell.
"I flew over the area for just a couple of minutes and was able to pinpoint exactly where they were," Merchant said.
Decaying on the steep side of a levy were five dead calves with nooses around their necks.
The calves appeared to have been lying in the weeds and among other garbage for weeks, and were handed over to San Joaquin County Animal Control.
Illegally dumping a dead animal is a misdeameanor, but Ernest Molieri of animal control says they may never know who did it.
"It's next to impossible to determine, because there is no clear identifications that are on these animals," said Molieri.
There has been a string of illegal animal dumps in San Joaquin County since the economy hit the skids, with owners refusing to pony up the cash to send the carcasses to the tallow works.
"They don't want to put the time and the effort or the expense to take them to the proper disposal sites," said Molieri.
The calves were discovered Tuesday with nooses around their necks along Moncure Road. Neighbors told the Ripon Police Department the smell had been lingering for weeks.
"People riding their mountain bikes or walking or jogging along the Stanislaus River - one person told us they thought it might be dogs, another person told us it was definitely cattle," said Sgt. Steve Merchant of the Ripon Police Department.
Officers knew there was something decomposing along the Stanislaus River, but weren't sure of where it was coming from.
"Once we narrowed down the location, we sent units out on three separate occasions to try and find the deceased animals but we couldn't locate them on the ground," said Merchant.
So, Sgt. Merchant took to the sky in Ripon's powered parachute Tuesday morning. It's a flying contraption that looks like a cross between a go-cart and funny car, from up above Merchant quickly found the source of the smell.
"I flew over the area for just a couple of minutes and was able to pinpoint exactly where they were," Merchant said.
Decaying on the steep side of a levy were five dead calves with nooses around their necks.
The calves appeared to have been lying in the weeds and among other garbage for weeks, and were handed over to San Joaquin County Animal Control.
Illegally dumping a dead animal is a misdeameanor, but Ernest Molieri of animal control says they may never know who did it.
"It's next to impossible to determine, because there is no clear identifications that are on these animals," said Molieri.
There has been a string of illegal animal dumps in San Joaquin County since the economy hit the skids, with owners refusing to pony up the cash to send the carcasses to the tallow works.
"They don't want to put the time and the effort or the expense to take them to the proper disposal sites," said Molieri.
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