Allegan Central Dispatch received a call about a deceased cat that was found in a “live” trap on the grounds of the Sandy Pines Resort and Campground the afternoon of Jan. 25. The caller was very emotional and requested that an officer come to the scene to investigate, according to the Allegan County Sheriff’s office.

The Allegan County Animal Control officer was dispatched and recovered the trap and animal and began an investigation.  The officer inspected all of the other traps in the park that he could find and found no other animals in any traps.  He then notified the Sandy Pines Resort Public Safety director about the situation, officials report.

A detailed investigation was conducted by the sheriff’s office and numerous witnesses were interviewed to try to determine what had taken place.  When the investigation was completed, the report and evidence was sent to the prosecutor’s office for review. 

Although every effort was made to identify a particular responsible person, the investigation was unable to identify one person solely responsible for not tending to or checking the trap in an appropriate time frame, Therefore, no charges will be authorized in this case, the news release said.

The sheriff’s office identified several issues with how Sandy Pines handles the trapping of animals and specifically how they trap cats in the park.  Suggestions were given to them to help improve this procedure and hopefully keep this from happening again, the news release said.