The Woodward News

Local News

January 29, 2010

Two charged in cattle theft

Two Kansas women are in the custody of the Beaver County Sheriff's Office in connection with the theft of seven black yearling steers from a Kansas feeder.

According to Sheriff Reuben Parker Jr., the women are being held in the Beaver County jail after they allegedly attempted to sell the steers at Beaver Livestock Auction.

They were arrested Tuesday evening when they allegedly attempted to collect a check for the cattle for an undisclosed amount, he said.

The suspects in custody are Treala Penrod, 28, and Susanne Phelps, 27, both of Ulysses, Kan., Parker said.

According to online court records on the On Demand Court Records website www.odcr.com, both Penrod and Phelps have received felony charges for knowingly concealing stolen property and "false pret/bogus check/con game."

Although the women "are not claiming they didn't do it," the sheriff said the investigation is ongoing because "there are possibly other cattle involved under different names."

The stolen cattle were discovered by Sheriff’s Deputy Shawn Campbell who works off hours at Beaver Livestock Auction and by another employee, Parker said, noting the brand and ear tags tipped them off.

In addition, he said, “seven is a small number for a cattle auction.”

Parker said the cattle apparently were “loaded into a trailer and hauled off” from High Plains Feeders in Montezuma, Kan. He had no idea when they were first reported missing.

But once found, he said, “The cattle have been returned to their owner."

This isn’t the first time cattle rustling has occurred in Beaver County, according to the sheriff.

“We have a rustler in the Department of Corrections from three or four years ago,” Parker said.

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