About 35-40 cattle first got loose from their fencing sometime on Saturday. A neighbor of the owner was able to make contact with them... but for whatever reason they got spooked and went into the bean fields.
Le Sueur County Sheriff Tom Doherty says, "You can see beans have come back but you can see the track in the beans and that's how they were able to follow them after the got loose the second time."
The sheriff department says, "It's difficult to locate the cattle right now since most of them are roaming in the corn fields. But what's most concerning for them is at night when some of them could go into the street.
Sheriff Doherty says, "Be extra cautious, especially getting on the east side of Le Center on Hwy 99 because an 800 pound cow doesn't give like 150 pound deer. They are going to cause some damage. And I don't want to see anyone hurt or in any danger."
Amy Lockie's husband is also a member of the Le Sueur County Sheriff's Posse and tried to help wrangle the cattle, which wasn't an easy task.
Amy Lockie says, "He tried to rope one and he roped it twice but he couldn't keep the dally the heifer was just too wild and too strong. He couldn't hold the dally around the saddle horn and it slipped right out and she was gone."
The fugitives apparently split up into smaller groups in the corn and wooded areas two to three miles east of Le Center.
Lockie says, it's a lot of responsibility and a liability. The cattle have been through a lot of the corn fields and I'm sure that's upsetting to him and I'm sure he's very afraid that they be on the road and that someone is going to hit them."
But now their only option may be to literally wait for the cows to come home. So far they have been able to round up about 18 cows and are still looking 10. They may bring in a State Patrol helicopter for help.
