Humboldt County investigators recover dogs from mass graves at sanctuary

Investigators recovered two dogs from mass graves near Miranda’s Rescue in Fortuna, and police said the animals had been transferred there by Stockton Animal Services. The sanctuary is now at the center of an animal cruelty, fraud and theft investigation that has spread well beyond Humboldt County.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office said it is carrying out the search warrant operation with the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office, California Attorney General’s Office, California Department of Justice, United States Department of Agriculture and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case has pulled in local, state and federal agencies as detectives work through the grounds of the no-kill rescue and trace where the animals came from.

Authorities have found the remains of 117 dogs in two separate mass graves, with bodies in various states of decomposition. Veterinarians reportedly determined that many of the dogs had been shot. ABC7 reported that more than 90 microchips were found, a sign that investigators are trying to match the dead animals to previous owners, rescues and transfers.

CBS News reported preliminary findings that 70 of the dogs examined died of gunshot wounds. Those findings, if confirmed, would point to a killing pattern rather than isolated neglect. The scale of the deaths has also raised alarms about other animals that may have passed through the property or through rescue networks tied to it.

KTLA reported that investigators were first alerted by a tip on April 26, 2026, and that the first search warrant was executed on May 1, 2026, at about 6:30 p.m. Since then, the inquiry has widened as authorities and rescue partners try to account for more than 700 missing rescue animals linked to the broader investigation.

Stockton Animal Services has said it is seeking answers after learning that the dogs it transferred had ended up in the graves. The transfer has pushed questions of oversight to the front of the case, including who approved the placement at Miranda’s Rescue, what red flags were missed and whether any other shelters or transferred animals connected to the property could still be at risk.

Miranda’s Rescue has been identified in reporting as being owned and operated by Shannon Miranda. As the search continues in Fortuna, the case is now a test of how rescue placements are vetted and how quickly warning signs can be acted on when animals disappear into a system that was supposed to save them.