Fremont County deputies investigating mysterious horse death in Penrose
PENROSE, Colo. (KRDO) -- A Penrose family is devastated after the mysterious death of their horse on their own property, and are warning their neighbors of a potential danger in the community.
When the Harmon family went to bed around 10 p.m. Sunday at their residence on the 600 block of M Street in Penrose, they had three horses. By the time they came out to feed at 7 a.m. the following morning, they only had two.
The Harmon family's horse, Lily, was found dead in the middle field on the family's property.
Lily was first brought to Penrose in 2016 by her owner, Sam Harmon. Her owner served in the Army and brought the horse home after touring in Afghanistan.
"My best friend gave her to me shortly after coming home from Afghanistan, and she gave me hope and purpose when I was lost after the military," Sam Harmon said in an email to KRDO.
"First thought was kind of shock a good healthy horse the day before running around playing with everybody else and that morning we found her dead. I didn't know what happened," said Andrew Harmon, one of the first family members to find Lily dead.
After they turned the horse over, Harmon says they quickly identified potential signs of trauma. The horse was bleeding from the neck.
The family tells KRDO they believe Lily was shot along the northern side of the property near 6th Street. Lily, along with the family's two other horses, would hang out near the fencing along the road during the morning hours. Andrew Harmon believes Lily was shot twice in the neck by an individual walking along that street.
According to the Fremont County Sheriff's Office, the horse's cause of death is undetermined at this time.
Even though he never heard gunshots, Andrew Harmon says the cause of death is clear.
"Just from past experience, I hunt a lot. I know what a bullet hole looks like in an animal," said Andrew Harmon.
For the time being the Harmons are taking extra precautions for their remaining animals, and telling neighbors to do the same.
"Be on the lookout; there is somebody not being a good person around here," said Harmon.
We asked the Fremont County Sheriff's Office if the people of Penrose should be concerned or take extra precautions for their own animals. We are still waiting on a response.
KRDO requested the preliminary investigative report from the Fremont County Sheriff's Office, however, the report is not a public record yet.
