‘Horror movie’: officials investigate after 21 dead dogs wash up on Washington state shore | Washington state
Authorities are investigating after nearly two dozen dead dogs washed ashore on an island in Washington state; one local likened it to “the beginning of a horror movie”.
The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office said 21 dogs were found along the coastline of Guemes Island, about 80 miles north of Seattle, between March 26 and Friday.
Authorities have begun “actively investigating” where the animals came from, the sheriff’s office said. a press release It was released amid a saga that stunned the island’s 600 residents.
“This place is a chilling mystery,” says Olivia Cole, Guemes Island fire chief. he told NBC News. “I say this all the time; honestly, it’s like the beginning of a horror movie.”
The sheriff’s office initially said the bodies of six canines were found washed ashore in an area called Kelly’s Point, and five more canines were found in the following days.
Another dead dog was found floating near the shore on Tuesday, and nine more dogs were reportedly found over the next four days.
“The whole island is talking and there are rumors because there are big tankers going through here and we know there are growers on the other islands as well,” Cole told NBC News. He said the canines appeared to be the same size and two had an orange rope wrapped around their necks.
Skagit County investigators said they have performed autopsies on the bodies, but because of the poor condition of the remains, they are not yet sure whether the animals were dogs, coyotes, foxes or something else.
Cole claimed that the creatures were skinned. But local news channel Kiro 7 reported Investigators are not yet sure whether the bodies were skinned or badly decomposed.
“It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before,” Ellen Fitch, who found some of the carcasses, told local news outlet KIRO.
Fitch said locals were “making assumptions” about what happened to the dogs.
“Or they’re just exaggerating,” Fitch said. “[People are saying]: ‘Oh, I heard they found wolves, foxes and jackals.’ [or] ‘Oh, I heard there were witches involved.’”
Guemes Island can be reached by ferry from Fidalgo Island, home to Mount Erie. It was called “Dog Island” in the 19th century. lots of woolly dogs on the island
