FBI file: Animal Mutilation, Animal Mutilation Part 02

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

order that local law-enforcement officials may not check or search them.

- live in the open air. Through her sloth or a deliberate botch-up, Helelius' tissue samples were exposed to oxygen by others in the lab and therefore the inoculation tests were useless.

When I talked to him, Hedelius stood firmly behind his findings. "I'm sure that whoever did this, shot the animal with a dart gun, and that he used either a culture of the bacteria or a dose of the toxin produced by the bacteria."

"Do you think," I asked, "that there's some sort of research going on?"

Yeah, I think so. And just why it's being done is the question.

Hedelius, made many salient observations relative to the case. For instance, when asked how easy it would be to obtain these bacteria or toxins, he replied: "It's very easy. There are perhaps a couple of hundred biological-supply houses in the country. . . . They could buy and propagate the culture, which produces toxins very easily." Would it take great expertise to isolate the poisons? Not really. "Actually, anybody who has had a basic course in bacteriology could do it. It's not that complicated."

On the other hand, Hedelius stressed the possibility that the whole case might be more complex than it appears to be. For instance, there was a complete lack of pain in the pouch or rupture (the first stomach) of the heifer he autopsied. He speculates that, for some reason, the mytilators may have sterilized the rumen. Dead animals start to bloat quite rapidly after they die, especially in the hot sun, but with this animal, the first thing that impressed me was the absolute lack of bloating—and I wasn't called in on this until the late afternoon. The careless was just about as fresh as it could be.

I now soon after death does a deceased animal start bloating.

Oh, just about immediately, Hedelius said. "Usually in the case of a ruminant animal, like a cow, Cous always have a certain amount of gas. But when I opened this animal up, the intestinal track and the rumen were absolutely empty and completely devoid of gas. I had never seen anything like it. Even when a cow is slaughtered at a packing plant, there's a certain amount of gas present immediately afterward. And so I can only conjecture that, with this research, perhaps there's a little more to it. Maybe they are, in fact, sterilizing the rumen, so that these guts are not produced."

It's enough to boggle the mind of a poor inquiring poet like me. Perhaps they are using the living systems of those

animals as instant bacteria or skin farms. Reading S/ Herah's scary book on chemical and biological snuff, one encounters something the U.S. developed called mortality-enhancing factors (known, naturally, as MEFs); these agents are added to ordinary biological so as to greatly speed up the kill time of a disease. Perhaps the muties are using MEFs to produce quick death, or a quick rush of production of something they want to collect. One researcher, in fact, does claim that the mutilators have got their disease death time down to 15 minutes. There are also reports that the glands that are removed from the animals, as well as the ears, eyes and lips, are the kinds of things that bona-fide researchers might take, in order to check the spread of chemical or biological agents.

## HOW TO BREAK THE CASE

Whoever breaks this case could collect at least $26,850 which is the approxi mate total of rewards now being offered by various state cattle associations, governors, newspapers, etc. Private investigator Erianne has presented what seems to me to be a good approach to cracking this case, based on his long experience in the intelligence field: Analyze the nuisit ion minutes in order to locate them. "I think they've made mistakes all along the may," he told me. "Penicause the nuisit ion system of mistake cover-up and you're on the right road."

Erjanne points out the similarity of the secrecy in this case to the secrecy around say, the U-2 overflights. The U-2 flights could have been uncovered by investigative reporters through examination of the civilian-based supply and logistical companies; even requisition or order forms held clues is to the nature of the enterprise involved. In the mutilation case, Erjanne points out, one could check helicopter-fuel delivery systems and repairs ordered for supply vehicles; one could look for unusual vans, perhaps with Federal seals affixed, which may appear to have broken down by the side of the road.

It turns out that the way that flying services transport helicopters-for oilfield work, for example-is to carry them in big vans; these vehicles have a sling-shot loading device, enabling the copter to be swung in and out of the van. Erianne points out that the Government, or a rogue unit within it, could easily move vans, helicopters and supply equipment throughout mutilation country. There is, he relates, a certain type of seal that is affixed to Government vehicles in order that local anti-environmental units

may not check or search them-even in the event of a highway accident. If there is a wreck, only Government people may examine the wreckage. Therefore, sealed Government or military equipment-railway cars or trucks-can travel in secrecy anywhere in the United States.

Erianne is skeptical about what will occur when some mutilator is actually caught carving a Hereford in some county. "I think the only person who can break something like this," Fruzze says, "is someone with knowledge of the affairs of a large organization and of how it produces its particular type of operations. And I don't think a deputy sheer with a slight background in law enforcement or intelligence is going to be able to do it. If he does catch a guy, or two guys, the culprit's background is going to be covered as far as possible. And the victim is going to be pacified. The prosecution may be for trespassing or some misdemeanor like that."

I mentioned to Erianne, as I had to other investigators, the obvious weakness of the muties—that whatever the imperceable scientific or security credentials, they're still pick-sick-tick. We be responded, we just don't know with the second or third echelon of high government in doing.

I detect a news, in reading Herbert Boul on the chemical buffered environment, that that scene tends to attract people—scientists and military officials—with just a touch of fanaticism. Officers and researchers in the Army's Chemical Corps are quoted as placing nerve right up there beside apple pie in the pantheon of patriotic symbolism. So knows? Assuming that the whole matter is not the work of sloppy outer-bowery burns, maybe in 1970 these patriots waxed wroth over Nixon's and began to figure out ways to commit their activities.

Whoever they are, they're definitely operating expensively—and with a sort of urgency. Helicopter-fuel costs must be up there in six figures; in lieu for instance, the rental on the creeper from which coyotes and predators shot is $125 an hour. As for what the muties may well be determine, take advantage of the apparent weakness in the Executive Branch at this time.

But there's always hubris waiting to destroy them. The old Greek phenomenon of hubris, overweening and giant and careless pride of crush, will cause the unities to make a breaking noise. They will do great