Tuesday afternoon, Fairfield Twp. police said the wayward bovine were still roaming in an area of heavy brush. Capt. Doug Lanier said citizens with skills in tracking and catching Longhorns have come forwarded to help. It is hoped that the combined efforts will eventually lead to the capture of the last two.
Butler County citizens and police worked throughout the day Monday to wrangle three Texas Longhorns in Fairfield Twp. and a bull in Liberty Twp. The escaped bull was back where it belonged by Monday afternoon, but the steers were still roaming the woods and roadways in Fairfield Twp. into the evening.
On Monday morning, Fairfield Twp. Police issued a cautionary warning to residents about the loose steer in the area of Morris, Hamilton-Mason and Tylersville Roads and the Ohio 4 Bypass, “as three Texas Longhorns have escaped from their pasture in the 7800 block of Morris Road.”
They were seen by residents and officers grazing in yards and running down the middle of roadways.
Police urged people not to approach the cattle and motorists were told to “exercise extreme caution and keep a safe distance from the animals.”
The bovine trio escaped Sunday evening prompting the owner to report that “newly purchased cattle, jumped over the fence and were now running through the woods behind (the owner’s) property,” according to the police.
Officers walked the wooded area and were able to spot the loose cows before they darted away east of Cincinnati Christian School. That’s when an ATV from the fire department was brought out, but the engine noise appeared to scare them, the report says.
“The cattle refused to come to their owner and appeared extremely skittish,” said officer Matt Miller in the report. “After that, I reached out to several nearby livestock farms in the area to gain expert assistance.”
Robert Campbell, who raises cattle on Hamilton-Middletown Road, volunteered his time and did locate one of the longhorns in the woods south of Keeneland Drive, but it ran. There was an attempt to track it, but it unsuccessful.
The three steer showed up in the backyard of a residence in the 7400 block of Keeneland and a pen has been baited in the area with the hope that they show up, according to the report.
Campbell was also in on the successful capture of a loose bull in Liberty Twp. He and Gavin Maxwell, Jayne Tafe and Andrew Montgomery assisted Butler County Sheriff’s Deputy John Schott in wrangling that cow when the owner could not be reached.
Residents are encouraged to report sightings of the missing cattle to the Butler County Dispatch Center at (513) 785-1300.
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