By CHRISTINE BOATWRIGHT / Staff Writer

FOURMILE – Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies seek help in finding those responsible for shooting and killing nine cows in Fourmile.

Jane Johnson, who owns the cows with her son, Bill, rents a pasture off Shelby County 56 in Fourmile. Johnson said she received a call from neighbors saying they heard calves bellowing. The next day, Bill Johnson found five cows killed from being shot in the stomach.

“We disposed of them, and the next weekend they came back and shot four more,” Jane Johnson said. “In total, there were two baby calves, and the rest were cows that they had shot.”

The cows were killed between July 27-Aug. 1, and sheriff’s deputies responded Aug. 2, stated a press release from the Sheriff’s Office.

“They were shot for no reason. It’s a criminal act,” Capt. Ken Burchfield said. “Those cows were of considerable value.”

“It’s close to a road there,” Burchfield added. “We don’t know who did it or why they did it. We have some leads and tips. We need a witness, someone who saw a car or someone bragged to someone about doing it. We need somebody to call and give us that last little bit of information we need to make an arrest.”

Jane Johnson said if she took one of her calves to sell, she could get about $1,500 each, and cows would go for about $2,500.

“You get a calf from them every year, and it just keeps adding up,” Jane Johnson said. “They were young cows, so we would have kept them another five to six years. They would have had calves every year.”

The Sheriff’s Office is asking for help in locating anyone involved with the shooting. Anyone with information can contact the sheriff’s office directly at 669-4181, through the Secret Witness line at 669-9116 or through Shelbyso.com by clicking on the “Report Criminal Activity” link and choosing the “General Information” category.