NEWTON COUNTY, MO.---- Maria Wagner says she was in shock after her discovery Saturday morning.
"We were out planting some seed and we happened to notice that they were gone," states Maria Wagner, Cattle Farmer.
"We were out planting some seed and we happened to notice that they were gone," states Maria Wagner, Cattle Farmer.
22 of her 29 calves stolen. The Wagner's have an open corral on their land for vaccinating their calves. Maria believes whoever stole their cattle was able to herd them into the corral and take them away in a trailer.
"Inside the corral there was hay and grain where the thieves had used that to bate the calves to get them all in there," states Wagner.
Wagner turned to her friend and neighbor Jodi Schlup for help. She and her husband, Larry, had cattle stolen on 2 occasions.
"January 2010 was the first time and they stole a trailer load," states Jodi Schlup.
And again last May, a loss of nearly 19-thousand dollars.
"You really don't feel the hard hit until like the end of the year when you go to sell the cattle and then you're $10,000 short, and when you're out here with the cattle, $10,000 short is about half of your yearly income," states Larry Schlup.
"You really don't feel the hard hit until like the end of the year when you go to sell the cattle and then you're $10,000 short, and when you're out here with the cattle, $10,000 short is about half of your yearly income," states Larry Schlup.
Now the neighbors are warning other farmers to take extra precautions.
"If you see something strange, you hear your dogs barking in the middle of the night, go look, and don't just look around your property, look farther away," states Larry.
The Schlups suspect the cattle thieves knew their feeding habits.
"Keep your habits not something someone can count on. Vary your habits," states Jodi.
Now, the Wagners have to wait until next year to replenish their stock.
"Next year we'll have another calf crop and we'll do our best to make sure they don't get stolen," states Wagner.
Wagner estimates the loss to be about $15,000. Newton County Sheriff's Deputies continue to investigate the situation.
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