Sheriff finds 600 dog collars in California animal abuse probe

Investigators found more than 600 dog collars inside a barn at Miranda’s Rescue Animal Sanctuary in Fortuna, a 50-acre property at 1603 Sandy Prairie Road, where they suspect dogs were killed and buried. The site is one of the most serious animal abuse probes in the county’s history, with evidence spread across barns, fields and dig sites.

The case began April 22, 2026, with credible allegations of felony animal abuse, animal cruelty, fraud and conspiracy. Deputies served a search warrant May 1 and returned June 23 through June 25 with a larger operation that used ground-penetrating radar and excavation in the east field and around the buildings. During that search, investigators recovered 117 intact canine remains from two dig sites, along with 21 canine skulls, hundreds of bones and six loose microchips from another area near the graves.

Seventy dogs were X-rayed on site. Many showed evidence of bullet fragments, and USDA and forensic veterinarians preliminarily determined that many of the animals died from gunshot wounds. Deputies also found remains that were too decomposed to remove from the same field; those were documented and covered. Most of the dogs recovered were microchipped, and analysts are working to identify them.

Roughly 900 animals were transferred to Miranda’s Rescue between January 2025 and April 2026, and about 730 are now unaccounted for. Officials have not located adoption records or other paperwork to explain where the animals went. Oakland Animal Services, which had transferred more than 800 dogs to the rescue since 2020, confirmed that one of its dogs, Zora, was found shot and buried on the property despite having been reported as adopted.

Miranda’s Rescue was a no-kill rescue, reserving euthanasia for rare cases involving terminal illness or serious danger. In 2007, the state Assembly named it the Best Sanctuary for Abused Animals in Northern California. Jennifer Raymond and Jenna Moore brought video and other evidence to authorities and dug up eight dogs from a mass grave before the sheriff’s office expanded the investigation. No arrests or criminal charges had been publicly announced as investigators continued sorting through witnesses, records and evidence.