Two women from Wellston have been arrested and 72 animals have been rescued as the result of an investigation that began in March of this year.
Lincoln County Sheriff Sgt. Aaron Bennett said Lisa Zumstein, 60, and her daughter Madeline Zumstein, 20, were arrested and booked into the Lincoln County Jail in Chandler.
He said both women have since been released from jail on bond as the investigation continues.
Each was arrested on one count each of animal neglect, Bennett stated. “We anticipate the filing of more charges,” Bennett noted, after discussions with the District Attorney.
Bennett emphasized, “In my 20 years of law enforcement this is the worst case of animal neglect I’ve ever seen.”
Even though each woman was arrested on one count of animal neglect, no formal charges have been filed against either yet.
Bennett said the 72 animals were rescued on July 26 as officers conducted their second search warrant within a week of the property located at 920028 S. 3370 Road in Wellston.
Among the animals rescued were six sheep, 13 goats, 29 horses, 22 cattle, actually 24 minus the two that had to be put down on the scene, Bennett stated.
Bennett explained, “We decided two weeks ago (now three) to take action due to the extreme circumstances–multiple carcasses on the ground.
“Those two that had to be put down were transported to the Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory on the Oklahoma State University campus in Stillwater for autopsies, blood work and stomach content,” he noted.
The sergeant said that Blaze’s Tribute Equine Rescue of Harrah, a non-profit organization, assisted officers on the day the animals were rescued.
“They did a fantastic job. There were multiple people who brought multiple trailers and we wouldn’t have been able to do this without them,” he said.
“They did have to administer medication to one of the horses that survived,” Bennett related.
“Chandler Animal Clinic came out and put the two cows down,” Bennett said, noting they were on site to assist.
Bennett said the investigation began in mid-March after a number of people in the area complained about the condition of the animals and their getting out and roaming around.
He said that Deputy Phil Bennett went out to the property and he informed the two women of the situation of non-compliance per state statute.
“He observed DEQ trash violations at that time as well,” Bennett said.
He said Deputy Bennett returned multiple times checking on the property but was unable to contact the two women, so he posted at least two notices during those visits.
“We even sent a Certified letter which came back to us,” he said.
“We conducted the first search warrant on July 20 and we observed several carcasses at that time. We had a veterinarian from Chandler Animal Clinic with us and she did an examination of each of the animals at the time and she provided a report to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office,” Bennett said.
“It was her opinion the animals were neglected in multiple ways,” he added.
“We began figuring out when were going back and part of that was seeking out a Rescue that could help with transport and housing of that number of animals.”
Bennett pointed out, “We had a total of six deputies and approximately 20 volunteers from Blaze’s Rescue, at least a half dozen trailers or more. The Rescue has their own vet and will check out each animal and provided us a report.”