Police in central Indiana say they're investigating after 20 cattle were reported stolen from a sale barn in Franklin.
A police report says Rickey L. Teverbaugh told the Johnson County Sheriff's Office that he securely loaded 20 calves into a holding pen at the Amity Sale Barn on Monday evening.
The cows, as well as the chain and padlock used to secure them, were gone Tuesday morning, the Indianapolis Star reported.
"(Teverbaugh) reported that he was the only one around when he dropped these cows off," the police report said.
Teverbaugh, the owner of the barn, told police he had recently bought the calves from a sale in Kentucky and was planning to auction them Tuesday night. They were worth about $21,000.
Sheriff's Detective James Bryant said the calves are brown and white, and black and white. Each weighs about 130 pounds. Police said the cows weren't branded and didn't have any other identifying marks.
Johnson County Sheriff Doug Cox said the thieves would've needed a large truck to move the animals. Investigators are checking with area businesses and homeowners to see if any surveillance video might lead to a suspect.
The newspaper couldn't reach Teverbaugh for comment.
The incident isn't the first of its kind in Indiana. In 2014, a Hendricks County farmer said seven head of beef cattle were stolen. In 2011, a Northern Indiana farmer said about 80 head of cattle worth $120,000 had been stolen from his farm in Argos over an 18-month period.
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