When Josh Crosgrove brought home a 3-day-old bottle calf April 13, he did not expect anything out of the ordinary.
He and his family have other cattle, as well as 12 mama goats, 17 goat kids, chickens, dogs and cats on their acreage outside Garland.
But things were anything but routine when he sat the small calf down to open the fenced-in area of the barn where she was to stay.
“I have never had this happen to me, where a young calf just bolted off,” he said.
Usually the young ones are slow and stay pretty close.
“It took off like a deer,” Crosgrove said in a later interview. “I had the calf on my property for less than 10 minutes and she was gone.”
He chased her for about a quarter mile before he lost sight of her. He and the family searched for another three hours till it was too dark. They posted about her online but no one had seen her.
So on April 14, he called the Seward County Sheriff’s Department to see if there was any help to be had.
Deputy Christopher Rebeiro has worked with drones and got the information from dispatchers about the calf. He was busy with other calls that day, and he didn’t get out to Crosgrove’s before his shift ended.
“I felt bad because I had offered to go out there,” Rebeiro said.
So after work, he made the 10- or 15-minute drive to Crosgrove’s place to give it a try. Rebeiro has been a Seward County deputy for two years and did police department work out west before this, but he has some experience with cattle.
“It was the neighborly thing to do,” the deputy said. “I explained to him they do not go very far. It is likely somewhere nearby.”
He could not spot the dark-colored calf with the drone among the hills and trees in the area, but did notice some thermal heat in one area.
She was not where it had indicated, but Rebeiro said as they walked around, he heard bawling from under some cedar trees, and they swooped her up.
Rebeiro shared photos with the Seward County Sheriff’s Office dispatchers to show the calf had been found. He was surprised when they were posted on Facebook and he was credited with “cow whispering skills.”
“It is kind of a joke right now,” he said, because previously he had helped with a dog incident which was also posted. “Everyone is going to think ‘he is the animal guy.’”
But Crosgrove and the calf now named “Miracle” are appreciative of the help.
“That was pretty awesome he was able to come out and help me,” Crosgrove said. “It could have gone the other way.”
Miracle is now taking a full bottle daily, doing well and will be on her way to the Seward County Fair with Josh and Jill Crosgrove’s 4-Hers, son Sawyer, who is 9, and daughter Skylar, 7, and future 4-Her Stella, 4.
