Six horses stolen from Winfield family ranch found safe
Six beloved horses stolen from a central Alberta ranch have been found safe and sound.
Breton RCMP believe the horses were stolen from Thunder Valley Ranches near Winfield under the cover of night Dec. 6.
Their rightful owners awoke the following morning to find the horses — Socorro, Peppy, Willard, Solstice, Buddy and Zoro — missing, with tire tracks from a truck and trailer the only evidence at the scene left to follow.
After pleading for help over social media, Cornelia Cameron, who lives on the ranch with her sister and their parents, said she received a call Tuesday from a worker on a gas lease site who said he saw the missing horses wandering between Rocky Mountain House and Buck Lake.
“I recognized them as soon as I pulled in; I was shaking and crying at the same time. It was very overwhelming,” Cameron said Wednesday.
There was no fence, and Cameron said it was lucky the horses were found together.
“They all seemed to be in good health; they weren’t hurt or abused in any way,” said Cameron, adding the horses were peacefully munching on grass when they were found.
Cameron believes pressure from the public forced whoever took the horses to drop them off rather than be caught with them.
“We are all very excited and happy to see them home and safe. I honestly was not too sure if they were going to be recovered,” Cameron said.
The family is offering a $2,500 reward to the worker who found their horses.
The Mounties were still investigating the theft. Anyone with information is urged to contact the RCMP livestock inspector at 403-701-1462.
Cameron suspects the thief may be from the area, given how close the horses were found to their ranch.