OPP and Windsor-Essex County Crime Stoppers are asking for the public’s help with an investigation where two horses were euthanized after getting injured on a farm in Essex. Crime Stoppers coordinator Const. Rick Surette says they believe the horses were injured as a result of foul play. “It happened southeast of Harrow in the 900 block of Iler Road, on the 2nd of September, on a Wednesday, between the hours of noon and 6 p.m.,” says Surette. “Two horses sustained injuries and as a result of those injuries, unfortunately, they had to be euthanized.” Owner Beth Kinnaird-Iler says they have had Trader and Cleo for over 20 years. “When we arrived, we found our 27-year-old thoroughbred, who we’ve had for probably 20 years, had a gash in his hip that was probably eight inches wide and about five inches deep,” she said. “Then at 6 p.m., I was at home, down the road. My daughter called and said that Cleo was injured and to come quickly.” Kinnaird-Iler says she had a cut on her stomach and by the time she got here, she was inside the stall and they had to euthanize her as well. She says the horses are like family. “To think someone would do this to innocent animals is, you know, first we thought it was a predator. We checked the paddocks, we checked where the horses were that day, to see if there was anything that could have caused this injury.” She says they’ve never had anything like this happen before. They are increasing security around their property. “Well, we do have some cameras up now around the barn, and we do have cameras on the house. We are going to get some more sophisticated cameras with facial recognition and nighttime capabilities before I would even think about bringing the horses home,” she says. Crime Stoppers is asking if anyone saw a vehicle or person(s) that was in the area or anything unusual or out of place between 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sept. 2 to contact police or Crime Stoppers at catchcrooks.com.
