Chilmark Police are investigating a possible theft of livestock after the remains of two sheep were recently found in the woods off Meetinghouse Road.
The Chilmark department reported that the two sheep were partially butchered and stuffed into plastic bags before Chilmark Highway Department officials came across the animals about 10 yards into the woods on Monday last week. The strange nature of the incident prompted the local police to launch an investigation into where the animals came from. Chilmark Police Chief Sean Slavin said the sheep were found roughly 200 yards down Meetinghouse Road.
According to police, neighboring and local sheep farms have not reported missing livestock.
Slavin said he is concerned about the strange nature of the incident, and that never in his time at the Chilmark station has he discovered a domesticated animal like this.
“People have dumped deer down dirt roads in the past from hunting, but this is obviously different than that,” said Slavin. “I’d like to know where they came from.”
On Martha’s Vineyard, livestock intended for food is typically shipped off-Island to certified processing facilities, said Slavin.
Chilmark Police said they reached out to Environmental Police, but they lacked jurisdiction due to sheep being domesticated animals. According to Slavin, because the sheep were already decomposing, they are still in the woods on Meetinghouse.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Chilmark Police Department.
