Cow herded from city lot

By MADELINE REIDA

Staff writer

Subway received a livelier-than-usual Angus last week when a stray cow wandered into the 1100 block of E. Main St. in Marion.

Marion police had received reports that people within a quarter of a mile were looking for a cow on Tuesday night. At 5:15 a.m. Wednesday, the stray cow appeared in town in the restaurant’s parking lot. While it had ear tags, its owner was unknown.

A farmer was called to see if the cow was his, but he turned out not to be the owner.

Police Chief Clinton Jeffery said in an interview that they guided the cow to the nearest open field primarily by yelling.

When the cow got close enough to the field, Jeffery got out, stood in front of it, and waved his arms around. “A really elegant thing,” he said.

Jeffery suspects that the cow is a red Angus, which a few ranchers in the area own.

“This is not the first time we’ve had cows in town,” Jeffery said. “Last year, some cattle got out of the gate from the transfer from trailer to building. They went towards the middle of town, down by the river; I don’t remember if they ended up catching them or not.”