Cattle Rustlers Strike Again In SW Missouri

January 21, 2013 10:30 PM

CANADIAN, TX – Cattle rest at a watering hole in a pasture July 28, 2011 near Canadian, Texas. A severe drought has caused shortages of grass, hay and water, in much of the state, forcing ranchers to thin their herds or risk losing their cattle to the drought. The past nine months have been the driest in Texas since record keeping began in 1895, with 75% of the state classified as exceptional drought, the worst level. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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cattle rustling, Lawrence County

MARIONVILLE, Mo. (AP) A southwest Missouri county that has seen a lot of cattle rustling activity has been struck again.

KSPR-TV (http://bit.ly/WnvT2b ) reports the Lawrence County sheriff is investigating the theft of 27 yearlings late last week from a ranch near Marionville.

Fifth-generation rancher Kyle Burk says the stolen steers represent about one-third of his herd. They weigh about 500 pounds and are worth $900 a head.

Sheriff’s deputies said the nighttime crime was a professional job that took several hours. Thieves broke down a fence and carefully picked out the healthiest cattle.

Burk buys and raises calves into cattle, then sells them at stockyards. He says the cattle were insured, but he won’t recover the full value.

Lawrence and other southwestern counties have seen a spate of cattle thefts in recent months.