By Amber Johns
Mountain Eagle Staff 

Published: Thursday, October 6, 2011 7:13 AM EDT

NetPosse is a non-for-profit organization specializing in missing or stolen horses. The organization quickly became involved when they were contacted by Michele Schmoll on behalf of Leland Neff to find his 22 missing horses following Hurricane Irene.

The storm pummeled upstate New York and sent flood waters through the Schoharie Valley, putting the small hamlet of Breakabeen under water. Breakabeen is where Neff's 22 horses lived and grazed. Since the flash flooding, all of them remain missing.  

Neff’s plight gained national attention and several organizations stepped up to help, in addition to many local volunteers.

Schmoll was one of those people. She contacted NetPosse and input the data she received from Neff on the missing horses, including pictures. She took the time to go through the lengthy filing process to get the horses listed on the website. The information was then confirmed by phone with Neff.

No one has reported finding Neff's missing horses, but NetPosse is still keeping track of the case. The organization is separate from Horse Evacuation East mentioned in last week’s article regarding Neff’s missing horses. 

“We did not collect any money from Mr. Neff at any time. As per our policy, his horse, as any horse missing in a disaster was listed on the site for free. There is not a ‘moment’ of crises. The crises last until the horse is home,” said Debi Metcalfe, who founded Netposse and volunteers about 40 to 50 hours per week helping horse owners in their moments of crises.

NetPosse is contacted for various reasons in regard to missing horses and the reasons vary, including theft, disaster or runaways.   

"Sometimes horses aren't considered ‘stolen’ as deemed by law enforcement," said Metcalfe. "But these people still need to find their horses." 

Whether horses are stolen or missing, NetPosse is the lifeline to those facing such hardship. 

NetPosse is a division of Stolen Horse International and its beginning is a personal one. Metcalfe had her own horse stolen in 1997. “Idaho”  was recovered 51 months later thanks to email alerts and the volunteer work of friends who spread the word. 

Metcalfe started a website with information about prevention and recovery tips, in addition to information about stolen horses being sent to her from all over the country. 

A few years later Metcalfe started the nonprofit organization and quit her full time job to run it.  

"Money is the main reason horses are stolen. Even though horses are not selling for much these days, we haven't seen it stop," said Metcalfe whose organization handles hundreds of cases each year and has seen consistent success in the recovery of horses.  

NetPosse became a non-for-profit organization in 2003 which allows for tax deductible donations to be made. These donations go toward the operation of the organization in pursuit of its mission of assisting distressed horse owners, victim services and educational programs.

“Missing horses are our main focus, but we have much more on the site, including information about horse identification, victim stories and news articles. We also work with stolen tack, trailers and other items and animals missing on farms,” said Metcalfe.

Metcalfe also holds seminars with groups large and small, including large horse expositions, small horse clubs and everything in between.

All of the unpaid volunteers are eager to help. There is no paid advertising, NetPosse is fueled by those willing to help others in a time of need.  

Once a report is made, a NetPosse Alert goes out to thousands of recipients. A NetPosee Alert is to the horse world what an Amber Alert is for a missing child.

From there, the message is forwarded on and on in an effort to find someone who knows or has seen the missing horse. 

NetPosse also has a facebook page used for updates, and the organization supplies fliers within their emails to be printed and posted. “It is easier for 1,000 people to print one flyer than it is for one victim to print 1,000 flyers,” explained Metcalfe.

"Some people don't have internet and in a time of a disaster not everyone can get to a computer, so we include flyers that can be posted in public places." 

A testimonial on the site states: "The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce employs nine state certified investigators who investigate a wide range of agricultural-related crimes.  Included in those crimes, are the theft of livestock, trailers and related-equipment and tack.  In a number of those cases, the livestock or equipment is transported out of the area or out of the state.  Stolen Horse International, with its Netposse.com, has proven to be an invaluable tool in going beyond all geographical boundaries in ‘getting the word out.’ Metcalfe has proven time and again to be trustworthy and reliable in being able to share confidential law enforcement information so as not to hinder or jeopardize the investigation.  Our agency looks forward to networking with Debi and Stolen Horse International in future investigations, as we have in the past, to reach a common goal of recovering stolen property and seeing those responsible punished for their actions."-Robert Jordan, Director Mississippi Agricultural and Livestock Theft Bureau.

If you would like to know more about NetPosse or volunteer to help visit www.NetPosse.com

Published with permission from the Mountain Eagle. See story on their site at http://www.thedailymail.net/articles/2011/10/10/the_mountain_eagle/
news/doc4e8c7c2ec37d5221937650.txt