Statesville, NC – Dorothy Dalton’s grandson was so excited when his grandparents bought Blue for him. Now Blue is missing and her grandson is devastated-it seems his beloved horse was stolen, right out of their pasture.

Blue, a 5-year-old Pinto mare is missing and presumed stolen. On December 29,2009 the family watered and fed the horses before dark and left them for the night. The next morning they discovered that Blue was missing leaving the Daltons and Dustin Christian, the Dalton’s grandson, distraught. The family and their friends started searching for Blue unaware that their horse may have been stolen.

“She was in the pasture with seven other horses and all of them were there except Blue,” states Dorothy Dalton. “The electric fence was on and there were no signs that she had gotten out.”

After an exhausting search that lasted for days, Dorothy called the Iredell County Sheriff Department on January 4, 2010, and reported Blue as a stolen horse.

Blue is a black and white paint mare, about 5 years old and 15 hands high. She has a black head with a star/stripe and disconnected strip. Her body is about 70% black with white legs. Her mane is half black up to head and half white down to withers.

“Our family is just stunned,” Dorothy Dalton said. “Dustin took good care of his horse. He loved to brush her everyday and rode her often. He’s absolutely heartbroken. We cannot believe she is gone.”

The family learned about Stolen Horse International (SHI), a nonprofit organization that helps owners spread the word about missing and stolen horses via their international NetPosse email network from one of the organizations NetPosse volunteers who saw an ad on Craigslist. An IDAHO Alert (the equine version of an AMBER Alert for missing children) has been issued with Blue’s information and picture to NetPosse volunteers.

“We’ve learned time is of the essence in recovering a stolen horse,” says Debi Metcalfe, president and founder of Stolen Horse International. “Within hours a horse can be transported several states away. In just a few days, any stolen horse can be transported across the United States and sold at auction several times, or even transported across the border into Canada or Mexico.”

Once an IDAHO Alert is issued, NetPosse volunteers distribute a customized flyer and website to thousands of other people, via their online and email contacts and list groups. Concerned individuals and businesses can locate Blue’s flyer in the North Carolina stolen horse section of www.netposse.com, so that anyone can print out
the flyer and post it in their area. SHI recommends tack and feed stores, auction barns, restaurants, and convenience stores; in short, anywhere that area people, and potential witnesses, congregate.

Horse theft is a crime that is alive and thriving in the U.S. today. It is estimated that thousands of horses are missing each year, and thieves often take horse tack, vehicles, or other items from the same location. With the
help of volunteers through NetPosse.com, many horses are recovered, and there is hope for victims like the Daltons.

“Papa had just gotten Blue a bridle with silver concherios all over it,” says Dorothy. “He wanted her to look pretty for Dustin.”

“There is a bridle waiting for Blue and a heart that needs to be mended. Help us bring Blue home,” says Metcalfe. “Although we can’t guarantee that we can find a horse, we can guarantee that the victim will not be alone in their search. We never underestimate the power of one and we never give up.”

Just yesterday Metcalfe received a notice from a Florida law enforcement officer that another horse had been recovered after four months because of the Stolen Horse International site. This morning Metcalfe talked with the owner of Shilo, stolen on September 11, 2009, on the phone.  Judy Aregano offered this encouragement to the Dalton family.

“When Shilo was stolen so many people insisted that I list my horse with NetPosse.com. I am so glad I did because she would not be home now without their help. As soon as their IDAHO ALERT went out people contacted me from all over the U.S., giving me hope and encouragement. I can’t explain how important it was to know I was not alone in my search. Because of those NetPosse eyes that were not mine, Shilo was found.”

“Many people think that horse theft went away with the “old west” days but nothing could be further from the truth,” says Metcalfe. “In times get hard like they are now in this recession theft goes up. That includes theft of
horses, tack and trailers. By now, Blue could be anywhere.”

Stolen Horse International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. SHI was founded in 1998 by Debi Metcalfe after she and her family spent nearly a year trying to locate Idaho, their Paint mare. Idaho was recovered when a
flyer they had posted at a convenience store resulted in the tip they needed.

SHI provides theft education, outreach, and recovery services. Debi’s book, Horse Theft: Been There, Done That, is available at the SHI website:www.netposse.com.