The five cattle taken from a McMinn County farm Dec. 3 have been returned, and three people have been charged with allegedly stealing them and a tractor taken from the same area in October, according to authorities.
Arrests in the cattle theft were tied to the theft of a Kubota tractor investigated Oct. 10 on County Road 446, authorities said in a McMinn County Sheriff’s Office statement. A $1,000 reward was offered for information on the cattle.
During the tractor theft investigation, detectives identified Monroe County resident Gary Hill as a suspect, and detectives learned the tractor had been taken to Bristol, Tennessee, and then to Hiwassee, Georgia, a few days later, investigators said. McMinn County detective Amber Cook located Hill in Georgia and the Kubota tractor was recovered and returned to the owner, officials said.
(READ MORE: McMinn County remains are a match for Fort Oglethorpe cold case)
On Dec. 3, McMinn officials investigated a report of five stolen cattle from County Road 419, near Englewood, authorities said. After photos of suspected vehicles and a cattle trailer were released during the initial probe and were posted on social media, Hill was identified as a suspect in the cattle theft, along with Thomas “Dewayne” Pressley, of Meigs County.