and saw the calves in the field. The Madison

and saw the calves in the field.

The Madison County investigator added that it was not possible the calves had wandered off by themselves, since “they could not have gotten out of the pen they were in.” There were also more calves in the pen than those taken and, when they were found, the ear tags used by the owner for identification were missing.

“We don’t know what happened,” Lt. Jenkins said. “Either they got loose or were turned loose.” He speculated that the reward offered by the owner, and advertised in the Madison Eagle, for information about the theft may have frightened the thieves into dumping the calves instead of taking the risk of holding on to them to sell later.

Lt. Jenkins said that, in most cases, the thefts have taken place on isolated property, although one dairy farm has two houses within sight of the pen where the cattle were taken.

Fauquier County Sheriff Ashby Olinger said Tuesday that his office has had no complaints of farm-related thievery for about a year. He said that several incidents last year were solved and the thieves arrested.

Culpeper County Sheriff Robert Peters is out of town, but Jim Holt, an investigator with the department, said that he has no information about any farm-related thefts in Culpeper County.

Sheriff Woodward asked that anyone who sees suspicious trucks hauling cattle at night on back roads please call the Sheriff’s Department (676-3331) with a description and, if possible, the license number of the truck.

Lt. Jenkins echoed Sheriff Woodward’s request, adding that pickups themselves are not suspicious, since they are out at all hours, but “it certainly would be suspicious to see someone riding the back roads late at night in a pickup with cattle sides on it.” Madison County residents should call the Madison Sheriffs Department (948-5161) to report suspicious activity.