After three days of excavating sections of the Miranda’s Rescue property, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office on Friday reported finding the intact remains of more than 100 dogs at two dig sites during a multi-agency animal cruelty and fraud investigation.
“The 117 intact dogs were in various stages of decomposition. Seventy of the dogs were X-rayed on site, and many of those animals showed evidence of bullet fragments,” the sheriff’s office said in a release.
“Most of the dogs recovered were microchipped,” the release continues. “Analysts are currently reviewing the data obtained from the microchips and are working to identify the dogs associated with those chips. All items were collected as evidence and will undergo further examination as part of the ongoing investigation.”
Another “21 canine skulls, hundreds of bones, and six loose microchips were located in another dig location near where the intact animals were discovered,” the release said.
The sheriff’s office also reports investigators found “an area inside a barn believed to be where the dogs were likely killed.”
“In that same area, investigators located more than 600 dog collars,” the release said.
“This investigation is just getting started. There is a tremendous amount of data to process, witnesses to interview, and evidence to examine,” Sheriff William Honsal said in the release. “The Major Crimes Division is laser focused on this case and will continue working with our state and federal partners to examine every lead. We are grateful for the investigative teams from the county, state, and federal government. We are also grateful to the private forensic veterinarians who performed the necropsies on site. The determination all of these professionals showed while working through this horrific scene is something we will not forget.”
The sheriff’s office executed a search warrant on the sprawling Fortuna property Tuesday, the second in as many months, along with a collection of local, state and federal agencies. The operation wrapped up on Thursday.
During a press conference at the scene, as the initial digging was underway, Honsal said that they were preparing for a “worse-case scenario.”
“What was advertised is that [Miranda’s Rescue] would take animals here and try to adopt them or train them and be able to house them on this property and that was done for a fee, between $500 and several thousand dollars per animal,” he said. “Our records indicated, through interviewing several shelters throughout the state, that Miranda’s Rescue, from 2025 January to April-May this year, received over 900 animals from these shelters and we are able to account for only a hundred or so that have been adopted. We have 730 that are unaccounted for.”
The sheriff’s office first served a search warrant at the property on May 1, after receiving what the agency described as “credible information regarding allegations of felony animal abuse, animal cruelty, fraud and conspiracy associated with Miranda’s Rescue.”
That includes, as the North Coast Journal reported in the two-part series “Miranda’s Rescue Under Scrutiny,” published June 18 and June 25, the remains of eight dogs dug up by two animal welfare advocates, Jennifer Raymond and Jenna Moore, who snuck onto the rescue’s property.
In addition, the women also provided law enforcement with documents detailing more than 600 dogs taken to the rescue from shelters in 2025 alone, alleging founder and president Shannon Miranda was accepting fees and killing dogs he’d promised to care for to make room for more.
In interviews with the Journal, Miranda denied wrongdoing but admitted to shooting five of the dogs, which he was paid to take in by out-of-the-area shelters, unearthed by the women, saying it was done for public safety. The others, he said, were victims of attacks by the animals buried with them.
Miranda also denied the existence of a mass grave at the rescue.
In addition to the 117 intact dogs, 21 skulls and hundreds of bones exhumed over the last few days, the sheriff’s office said more canine remains “in advanced stages of decomposition” were found.
“Investigators attempted to remove animals from that location; however, due to the advanced stage of decomposition, investigators on scene, in consultation with the prosecution team, determined that the evidentiary value of removing the animals from the ground was not justified,” the release states. “Investigators documented the location and observations, and the site was covered, leaving the animals in their final resting place.”
As the Journal also previously reported, and Honsal also stated during the press conference, under the California law, a rescue can put down an animal with a gun, so long as it is shot in the head for a quick death.
But killing animals “for financial gain and failing to provide the exact services guaranteed to his associate,” as alleged in the May 1 search warrant, could bring charges of fraud and/or cruelty.
Honsal also said during the press conference that his office was “unaware of any new animals coming into Miranda’s Rescue.“
“It is still open,” the sheriff said. “There’s still animals that can be adopted. So if anyone is interested in adopting an animal, you can still come here.”
Animal Control officers are monitoring the animals still at the rescue three times a week and a veterinarian comes by once a week.
Of the 117 intact dog corpses recovered, 70 were evaluated at the location by USDA and forensic veterinarians, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Based on those examinations, investigators preliminarily determined the cause of death for many of those animals to be gunshot wounds,” the release stated. “Due to time constraints, the remaining 47 dogs were not examined on scene. All 117 dogs were collected as evidence.”
In addition to the sheriff’s office, other agencies involved in this week’s operation included the California Attorney General’s Office, California Department of Justice, United States Department of Agriculture, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office.
The Cal Poly Humboldt Anthropology Department, the Animal Legal Defense Fund and private forensic veterinarians also provided support for the operation, as did the Yurok Tribe, which assisted with the ground penetrating radar used to determine search sites.
“The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office would like to inform the public that, due to the nature and complexity of this investigation, the evidence review process will require a significant amount of time,” the release stated. “Upon completion of the investigation, and after a thorough review of all evidence, if there is sufficient evidence to support violations of animal cruelty, fraud, or other applicable laws, the case will be submitted to the prosecution team for review and consideration of criminal charges.
“The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office understands the public’s desire for accountability and justice,” the release continued. “However, it is our responsibility to conduct a complete, impartial, and legally sound investigation while ensuring that the constitutional and legal rights of everyone involved are protected throughout the process.”
Anyone with information related to the investigation is asked to contact the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251.
