January 30, 2019 - 12:29 PM
HEBER, Ariz. - Authorities say they're investigating the deaths of several horses in eastern Arizona.
The Navajo County Sheriff's Office says it has received reports in the past three weeks of a total of seven dead horses near Heber.
Chief Deputy Randy Moffitt says it's unclear how they died. He says many of them had been decomposing and other animals fed on them.
He says the horses were within a five-mile radius of each other in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.
Moffitt says his office has no reports of branded horses that are missing, leading authorities to believe the dead horses were wild.
Forest officials are leading the investigation.
Marc Thomas with the agency's Southwestern Region said Wednesday that, historically, poor health, predation and motor vehicles have led to horse deaths in the area.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019