Investigation launched after more than 60 cows stolen from Ohio farm overnight

MORE than 60 cows worth up to $2,000 each were stolen during an audacious theft in Ohio over the weekend. ​

The calves vanished between the hours of 10 p.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. Sunday from a converted cattle barn in Coldwater, around 70 miles from Dayton.

Mercer County Sheriff Doug Timmerman told The Daily Standard he suspects the thieves were experienced with cattle and came equipped for the job.

“We suspect it has to be somebody that's very familiar with handling cattle and has the equipment and means to be able to transport that, and not only that, but to care for them afterwards and to have an outlet for them once they leave there,” Timmerman said.

The thieves would have needed “some pretty serious equipment” to pull off the heist, the sheriff explained, as a van would not have been enough to load the cattle.

“Common sense is probably telling us that there was probably a trailer-load, a full trailer-load taken, which is why they probably stopped,” he said, referring to the perpetrators. Obviously, somebody has thought this out a little bit ahead of time.”

Timmerman added that the thieves would have also needed a method to “get rid” of the cattle or resources to raise them.

The cows were Holstein calves, worth $1,800 and $2,000 each. They weigh around 250 pounds and can be identified by their black and white or red and white markings.​

Derek Joseph Gaerke, who co-owns Gaerke Brother Farms, said the stolen calves were 13 weeks old. Several younger calves were left behind.

On Facebook, he confirmed his company owns the cattle, but that they were in the care of Selhorst Farms at the time.

Police have alerted nearby sale barns to the incident and are appealing to the public for any information or Ring doorbell footage they may have. ​

​Holsteins are an "efficient, high-producing” breed, according to the Oklahoma State University’s Department of Animal and Food Sciences.

A testing production program conducted by the department found that they produce 17,408 pounds of milk, 632 pounds of butterfat and 550 pounds of protein per year.