Tips Coming In in Dead Dog, Horse Investigation

CABARRUS CO., N.C. – Melanie Davis Thrift got exactly what she asked for after her first TV news interview aired on WCCB: tips. Tips about the miniature horse and pit bull that were found dead, on the side of Sisk Carter Road in Cabarrus County, partially wrapped in plastic tarps. Thrift says the animals’ throats had been slit. She wants to find out who committed the gory act, and also find out who the animals belonged to.

She says, “I’m pushing it as hard as I can, push it in every county.” Her pushing is leading to information.

Someone sent her pictures of two men on the side of the road, four miles as the crow flies from where the animals, partially wrapped in some plastic tarps, were dumped. The picture was reportedly taken on the same day the animals were discovered nearby. The men appear to be washing off plastic tarps, using water from a creek that is not visible from the roadway.

We met Thrift at that spot, that crosses into Rowan Co., Monday. She says, “I mean, we don’t know if they committed a crime at all, but this is not their property.”

And, Thrift says a woman reported to the Cabarrus Co. Sheriff’s Office a license plate number from an unusual truck seen in the area. Also, pictures of the animals, alive, that appear to be a match, have surfaced. We can’t show them to you, because it’ll reveal where they came from. But they do exist, and there are multiple copies.

Thrift says, “Someone that wanted to remain anonymous came forward. The person also contacted Cabarrus Co. and talked to detectives.”

WCCB is waiting to hear back from detectives about the tips Thrift has dug up, and if any of them are being investigated. The case is now posted on the Cabarrus County Crime Stoppers Facebook page.