The Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Montrose County Sheriff’s Office need your help. On or about May 20, 2000, a person or persons stole two sets of sheep heads and horns from a taxidermy business in Montrose, Colorado. The sheep, one Desert Bighorn and one Rocky Mountain Bighorn, were in the process of being made into life-sized mounts for public display in the Montrose Division of Wildlife Service Center. The Desert sheep had been seized in 1999 for being harvested in the wrong area and the Rocky Mountain sheep was killed by a vehicle near Ouray, Colorado in April of this year. The Desert sheep has a DOW plug in the right horn; the Rocky Mountain sheep did not have a DOW plug.

Montrose-area Crime Stoppers, Operation Game Thief (OGT), The Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Society, The Foundation for North American Wild Sheep and the taxidermist are offering a total of $4000 in rewards for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for the theft of the sheep horns. Persons who call with information will remain anonymous. The OGT toll-free number is: (800) 332-4155 and the Crime Stoppers number is (970) 249-8500. You may also email OGT at game.thief@state.co.us.

Any information would be greatly appreciated according to DOW investigator Glenn Smith. "Whoever stole the two sheep heads not only stole them from the DOW, but, more importantly, stole them from the citizens of Colorado, for personal gain. They are nothing more than common thieves and the citizens of Colorado are the big losers."