Denton County sheriff’s department animal officers will let a grand jury decide whether the deaths by dehydration of 23 cows should be prosecuted as a criminal case.

There does not seem to be a criminal intent to harm the cattle, said Sgt. Roger Griggs, but they died because of negligence, which is a criminal offense.

“We’ll let a grand jury decide whether a crime has been committed,” Griggs said.

A helicopter pilot flying in the area of FM455 and McReynolds Road near Sanger saw what appeared to be a number of dead cattle in a pasture late Sunday afternoon and contacted a friend who had connections with the sheriff’s office.

An animal officer visited the area at about 9 a.m. the next day and saw a black cow standing outside the fence. The cow was emaciated and appeared to be uncoordinated and in obvious distress.

That cow turned out to be the only survivor of a herd of black Angus cows and at least one bull in the pasture at the time the officer arrived.

According to a sheriff’s report, the officer found a dead bull lying not far inside the gate and then began finding more and more deceased cattle as he walked through a pasture. He found a fence leading to another pasture where there is a pond, and he found the gate closed between the two pastures.

He called the 74-year-old owner, who was in Oklahoma. He said he has been ill for weeks and that his friend has been caring for the cattle for him.

The owner called the 69-year-old friend, who drove to the pasture. The man was visibly upset, according to the report.

He at first said he checked on the cows about four days earlier and the gate was open. When questioned further, he said that it had been about 10 days since he checked on the cattle, according to the report.

Griggs said the investigation showed that the cattle had originally been in the field that held the pond. But a small break in the fence had hairs that made it appear some of the herd went through the break in the fence because the second pasture has deeper shade. But once in the dry pasture, they apparently could not find their way back through the fence to the pond, he said.

Deputies obtained a court order and seized the live cow. They took it to a veterinarian, and it is recovering.

“There obviously has been some negligence here. Someone should have been checking on those cows in this heat,” Griggs said. “Whether someone should be prosecuted — we’ll let the grand jury decide that.”

DONNA FIELDER can be reached at 940-566-6885. Her e-mail address is dfielder@dentonrc.com .