Final heifer in Hagerstown livestock auction escape is captured

May 16, 2008|By ANDREW SCHOTZ

The escape of four heifers and a cow from a Hagerstown livestock auction house sent local police scrambling Wednesday and early Thursday. The final heifer was caught Thursday after it was tranquilized near Frederick Street, according to Hagerstown police.

One animal had to be shot and three others were tranquilized so they could be captured, said Jim Starliper, co-owner of Four States Livestock Auction on First Street.

The final one, a black heifer, was at large until late afternoon Thursday, when Starliper said it had been seen near Old Forge Road.

On Wednesday, officers and patrol cars went to several sites in and around Hagerstown as reports of the animals' whereabouts changed.

A heifer and another cow were caught Wednesday afternoon in the area of Frederick Street, according to Mike Eader of Eader's Livestock Hauling.

About 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Hagerstown Police Department received a report that two of the missing animals were seen near Municipal Stadium.

A Hagerstown police officer said after 11 p.m. that one of the animals was charging at people and cars.

Police captured one of the animals on the midnight shift, and had to put the animal down, an officer said this morning.

The cows got away from Four States off Frederick Street, Eader said.

He said he hauled them in from Warfordsburg, Pa., but they fled the auction house before they could be sold.

"They pushed the gate back over," he said.

Hours after the first two animals were caught, authorities received changing reports of where the others were - reports had them at the Dairy Queen on Dual Highway and at Eastern and Jefferson boulevards.

When one animal showed up on Trovinger Mill Road off Jefferson Boulevard, Lt. Mike King of the Hagerstown Police Department got there and shot it with two tranquilizer darts.

King said the tranquilizers were supposed to kick in after about five minutes. But they didn't have that effect this time; the cow still couldn't be found about 30 minutes later.

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