CLONCURRY Stock Squad investigators believe up to 50 head of cattle missing from a Nelia station last year have been stolen.
Detective Sergeant Liam Scanlan said between 30 to 50 head of Santa Gertrudis heifers went missing from the property east of Julia Creek sometime between May and December. They were horned, had NLIS tags and were branded with the lazy G 0C on the near side.
He said the missing cattle were worth around $70,000, although this figure was “conservative”.
The station owner, who asked that he and his property not be named, said he discovered the cattle were missing after mustering around three months ago. “They walked off, I don’t know who has got them,” he said. “I’m missing them, that’s all I know...We have got plenty of cattle but I could do without it (the loss). We’ll grin and bear it, that’s all you can do. It’s very, very annoying.”
The owner preferred it be known that the cattle were missing, rather than stolen, because he had no proof. It was possible after heavy rain last year that the cattle traveled downstream. But when asked if he believed they were stolen, the owner said; “they didn’t come back, did they?”
Detective Sergeant Scanlan said the stock squad labelled it as a theft. He believed the cattle were stolen rather than dead as there were no signs of remains, and it had not happened during drought.
“The property has enough feed to hold a great capacity,” he said. “I’ve seen the cattle on the property and they are very healthy and fat, and in good condition.”
The Detective Sergeant said investigations continued. “We are going to conduct further inquiries of people in the area to see if anyone has information.
“The victim has made contact with neighboring properties, (they) haven’t been able to locate them on their properties.”
The property owner did contact the stock squad as soon as he was aware of the missing cattle, but the challenge for investigators was the theft happened within an eight month time-frame.
Anyone with information can contact Detective Sergeant Scanlan on 4742 8813.
Otherwise they could contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000.
