CNY farm mystery solved: Guernsey the paint mare died close to home

CNY farm mystery solved: Guernsey the paint mare died close to home

01 August 2016

Report Image - 1_Guernesey.jpg
Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Head

Niles, NY – A drone has solved the mystery of Guernsey, the 1,400-pound horse who disappeared from her 2.5 acre Cayuga County pasture without a trace.

The paint mare, whose disappearance evoked a public outpouring of comfort and support for her owners Sue and Rodger Head, was found dead Saturday afternoon about six or eight rows into a cornfield behind her pasture on Route 41A. She was last seen Monday.

"We still don't know how she got there. I don't think she had enough energy to jump the fence," said Sue Head, owner of Diamond Executive, also known as Guernsey.

Her husband, Rodger Head, said he suspects that Guernsey knew her time had come and went off in search of a place to die.

The Heads and a state trooper searched the pasture Guernsey shared with another horse Sunshine, but could find no spot indicating that the big animal had damaged a fence or moved a gate to get out. The fenced pasture is just a small spot in the 425-acre farm that includes 325 acres planted with crops.

When the Heads got the word out about the missing horse on Syracuse.com and other local media the public responded with reports of possible Guernsey sightings and words of comfort, Sue Head said. Their thoughts were greatly appreciated, she said.

The Heads also contacted NetPosse, an organization that helps people find missing horses. NetPosse reached out to drone operators on Search and Rescue Drones, a Facebook group for volunteers who use drones to help find people and animals.

George Stowers of Williamstown volunteered to help the Heads search their cornfield for Guernsey. On Friday afternoon he and his nephew Richard Bellamy of Auburn flew drones over an area the Heads believed Guernsey may have gone. No luck.

DronePilotRichBellamy.jpg
Rich Bellamy, Drone Pilot, is pictured with Rodger & Suzanne Head
Photo Courtesy of: George Stowers

Stowers had personal business in the area on Saturday and returned to give the search another try with his Phantom 3 Professional drone that can legally fly 400 feet over the ground and must stay within the operator's sight, or about a quarter mile.

"I popped the drone up in the air," and six minutes later its camera located the dead horse, he said. "It wasn't that far from the pasture."

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George Stowers, Drone Pilot, is pictured with Rodger & Suzanne Head.
Photo Courtesy of: George Stowers

The dead animal had been mauled by coyotes, Sue Head said.

Rodger Head buried Guernsey where she lay in the field.

After the corn is brought in, Sue Head said she plans to hold a funeral for the 29-year-old horse. A fence will surround her grave and a plaque will mark Guernsey's final resting place, she said.

Sue Head said she had feared that someone had taken Guernsey. She's happy that the horse was found, but "I wish it was a better closure," she said.

Resource: Posted on August 01, 2016 at 4:53 PM, updated August 01, 2016 at 5:55 PM, www.syracuse.com, Charley Hannagan, http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2016/08/cny_farm_mystery_solved_guernsey_the_paint_mare_died_close_to_home.html

#NetPosse #StolenHorseInternational #Guernsey #Drone #GeorgeStowers #RichBellamy #SuzanneHead #RodgerHead #Missing Horse 

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