56 Dogs Found Shot and Killed in Arkansas

56 dead dogs were discovered in the woods in Arkansas Thursday.

The Searcy County sheriff said two people from a lumber mill came across the dead dogs in a remote forest area off of Arkansas 254, KY3 reports. The sheriff thinks someone brought the dogs to the woods, fed them poison and then shot them.

“Systematically just start shooting and just leaving them lying and not even making sure that they’re dead. I just can’t imagine somebody doing that,” said Sheriff Joey Pruitt. The shelter manager from the local Humane Society has been rescuing the few canine survivors and nursing them back to health. (One surviving dog had to be put down, bringing the total number of victims to 57.)

Investigators have recovered evidence but have not named any suspects. But the sheriff’s office has told locals they do not believe the perpetrator is stealing people’s pets.

Write to Tessa Berenson at tessa.berenson@time.com.