Horses stolen, victimized near Echo Lake

By STEVE LYSAKER
Bigfork Eagle
Area horse owners, especially those around Echo Lake, may want to keep a close eye on their equine companions after two recent instances of abuse and theft.

A naked man was found having intercourse with a horse in a stable on McCaffery Road around 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 17. Flathead County Sheriff Jim Dupont said the man, still nude, fled on foot when the owner of the horse entered the stable.

"He left his boots and a bottle of hand lotion behind," Dupont said.

The incident came just days after a Flathead County deputy reported his horse missing. The horse had apparently been taken from its stable near Echo Lake early in the weekend.

The horse was back in its stable by late in the weekend with traces of lanolin around its rectum, Dupont said.

"It appears we have a serial horse rapist," Dupont said.

The sheriff's office is investigating, and Dupont advised horse owners to be vigilant.