TOOELE, Utah — A Tooele County horse owner is spreading awareness after her beloved horse was found dead on a farm in the Pine Canyon neighborhood, with investigators looking into whether a stray bullet or ricochet may have been responsible.
The Tooele County Sheriff's Office told FOX 13 News that it has not confirmed what caused the horse's death, but based on its initial findings, deputies suspect a bullet ricochet may have been the case.
For horse owner Alyson Tate, the loss came as a shock.
Apache, her horse of six years, had lived on Jolene Jolley’s farm, where horses, goats and chickens share the property.
“You could just jump on him, and he was just do-do-do, do his own thing,” Tate said. “So I got the news basically early morning Sunday. When she explained to me that he was dead, I was very shocked.”
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Tate said Apache was older, and she initially assumed he may have died of natural causes.
“But when she said she believed he had been shot and she called the sheriff's office, I was stunned,” she said.
Jolley said the discovery became more concerning after she examined the horse.
“We saw that there was a wound to his head,” Jolley said. “As we started looking at it, it looked like a bullet wound. Like he'd been shot.”
Jolley said the projectile may have traveled a significant distance before reaching her property.
“The scary part about all of that is that that stray bullet, projectile, ricochet, whatever it may have been, it hit a horse, but it could have been one of us,” she said.
Following a social media post about Apache’s death, Jolley said several neighbors contacted her and shared stories of similar incidents they believe have happened in the area over the years.
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Although the Sheriff’s Office could not confirm previous incidents, they did say they regularly receive reports involving target shooting, including individuals shooting in areas where they should not be or reports from people recreating nearby who believe rounds or ricochets have come into their area.
The incident comes as hunting season gets underway across Utah. State regulations prohibit people from discharging a firearm within 600 feet of a building without permission from the owner or occupant.
Tate hopes the tragedy serves as a reminder for people to use caution when shooting recreationally or preparing for hunting season.
“We've got to be careful where we're sighting in our guns for hunting season, where we're recreationally shooting,” Tate said. “We've got to have a safe backdrop, and we have to know that a projectile can go up to two to three miles and it can hurt anyone.”
As the investigation continues, Tate said she hopes no other family experiences a similar loss.
For now, Apache’s owners are waiting for answers, while hoping his story raises awareness about firearm safety and the potentially deadly consequences of stray bullets.