More than 50 horses released when their pasture fences were cut have been found and returned to Mustang Monument, the sanctuary operated by wild horse advocate Madeleine Pickens.

In August, the Mustang Monument website said that during an extended period of very hot weather, trespassers cut fences and shut down water lines on the property, resulting in the release of several horses and the deaths of others. Rebecca Allured, spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA), later confirmed that 11 adopted feral horses were found dead on the Pickens’ property, and that more horses were discovered dead outside the property. Still, other horses remained at large. The NDA is working cooperatively with the Bureau of Land Management and the Elko County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the reports of vandalism of water sources and horse deaths at Mustang Monument, Allured said.

On Sept. 1, acting on information provided by a local rancher, investigators found 54 of the missing horses on the rancher’s nearby property.

“All of those horses were returned to Mustang Monument,” Allured said