Police: No creature killed two ranch cows

That's what a Northwest Dade cattle rancher and rodeo host said after finding remains of two of his heifers piled in the entrance of his fenced-in ranch west of the Florida Turnpike last week.

Onelio Olazabal, a Palm Springs North resident, said Friday afternoon he drove to his property, Day Riding Club Ranch, at Northwest 152nd Street and 117th Avenue. He immediately found a bloody scene -- the severed head of a heifer and heaps of guts and internal organs.

He called police and discovered two heifers were missing.

He said rustlers, not the legendary animal who West Dade residents have claimed sucked blood from their animals and mutilated them, are responsible.

``Pirates -- they were professionals. You could tell by the cuts and because they knew what to leave behind,'' said Olazabal, who kept the heifer head. ``They had guts to do it right by the road, too. There can be a lot of traffic on that road.''

But he is not surprised. He said rustlers, who keep the meat for themselves or sell each carcass for up to $1,000, have hit other ranches west of the turnpike recently.

If that is so, no one but Olazabal has reported the incidents, said Metro-Dade police. A detective for the area was not available for comment, but crime analysts said they have not spotted any other cow thefts or slaughterings in the last month. Police are still investigating this latest case.

This isn't the first time Olazabal cattle have disappeared from the ranch, where Olazabal hosts weekend rodeos and roping competitions. Last year, he said, rustlers stole 17 cows and a trailer.

Olazabal said he does not plan to add equipment to ward off rustlers or hire a live-in employee to watch the sunken field already bordered by a barbed wire fence.

``The chupacabra is the guy you really have to worry about,'' joked Olazabal. ``Anyway, who wants to live among cows?''