Some Edwards' Sheep Returned, Others Remain Missing

WRIGHT, WYO. - In a twist to an already strange story, a little over half of the Edwards' family's missing yearling ewes showed up again.

Guy Edwards' ewes were returned. His dad, Rich's ewes were not.

As The Fence Post reported in mid-July, the Wright, Wyo., ranch family discovered on July 8, 2023 that 70-80 of their yearling ewes were missing.

While the sheep were together in one pasture, they were marked for ownership and the family had discovered that about 50 head of the missing sheep were theirs, and about 20-30 were Rich'

The two families maintain their own separate sheep flocks but sometimes pasture them together and often trade labor and work together.

Guy discovered vehicle tracks and trampled grass indicative of a trailer being loaded in the pasture next to a fence. One ewe was on the other side of the fence, in a corral, all alone. The guard dogs were near the single ewe, in a manner similar to how they act when lambs are shipped.

Now all of Guy's missing lambs have been returned, but none of Rich's have.

Guy said that after they discovered that the sheep were missing and they checked all neighboring pastures, etc., they kept the remaining sheep out of the pasture (they had gathered them to dock lambs on a group of range-lambing ewes that were mixed with the yearling ewes) for three days. "My dad and I combed the pasture and the neighbors' pastures and didn't find anything. So we put the sheep back in there," said Guy.

He said then when they gathered sheep later on, to sort some ewes off for a yearling ewe sale, they counted the yearling ewes again. Guy's count came out right. Rich's was short 32 head.

Guy, Rich and the investigators continue to watch for Rich's missing ewes. They should all be marked with a blue circle paint brand on the back and an orange ear tag in the right ear.

All of the missing sheep are white faced range sheep — a cross between Columbia, Targhee and Rambouillet, probably weighing around 150 pounds. Some of the missing ewes hauled to the Black Hills Stock Show in February to be used in contests, and would have a metal scrapie tag in the ear — a requirement for crossing the state line.

Rich sold 100 head of yearling ewes in Huron this summer, averaging $325 per head. That would make the missing ewes worth over $10,000.

Anyone with information about this case should contact the Wyoming Livestock Board at (307) 777-7515 or the Campbell County Sheriff's office at (307) 682-7271.

Source: The Fence Post Magazine