LISBON - Edward Sabol never imagined finding one of his young calves severely burned on his farm Sunday morning.
"I heard the mother mooing," the Lisbon man said. "When I looked down the hill I thought the calf was covered with poop, but as I got closer I saw that it was burned."
The 220-pound female animal was burned so severely that her hide was separated from the body.
It is believed that the calf was burned sometime Friday night.
Sabol and his wife put the calf on a four-wheeler, loaded it onto a wagon and drove it to large-animal veterinarian Dr. David Smith's office in Hanoverton, about 10 miles from Lisbon.
"Dr. Smith said we needed to put the calf down immediately," Sabol said, adding the vet was livid.
"He went off like the Fourth of July," Sabol said.
Smith was more blunt: "It is outright torture."
The veterinarian said between 30 and 35 percent of the animal's body was burned. The wounds ran from the shoulders to the hips and halfway down each side of the chest.
By Sunday, the animal was in a state of shock.
While he didn't have specifics on what was used to start the fire, Smith said it definitely was highly flammable fluid.
Smith took photographs and called the Columbiana County Sheriff's Office, the Humane Society of Columbiana County and local media.
Sheriff's deputies searched the farm for evidence. Members of the Humane Society of Columbiana County also visited the farm and looked for evidence of the assault.
Sabol's wife, Tamara, rode around the farm with Humane Society investigators looking for evidence.
"We did not find much more than was found the first day," Tamara Sabol said on Monday.
Humane Society of Columbiana County Director of Operations Heather Jurina confirmed the department has been called in to investigate and would provide details of what has been found.
The estimated value of the calf is $600.
The Sabols said this is not the first time they've had problems with their cows. The couple has 24 beef cattle on the farm.
"Someone shot one of our cows in the head with a .22 rifle a couple years ago," Edward Sabol said. "We've had problems with kids riding their four-wheelers on the property.''
There also have been break-ins.
The couple's 125-acre farm, 6618 Lisbon Road, is located about a mile outside of Lisbon. It has been in Tamara Sabol's family since 1965.
Glenn and Patricia Boros, owners of Canfield Auto Car Wash on U.S. Route 224, have volunteered to donate $1,000 for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who committed the crime, according to Tribune Chronicle news partner WYTV 33.
Another anonymous donor committed $500 to the reward.