Investigators are hoping to find the person responsible for dumping some dead hogs in the Raccoon River in western Iowa.

Tom Roos with the DNR says some canoers spotted the decomposed hogs Sunday near Haage Park in Sac City. Roos says the DNR checked it out Monday morning.

"We floated down the river and counted 31 hogs between, we believe, 20 to 30 pounds," he says.

If authorities are able to figure out who left the hogs in the river, it’s not clear how much they would be fined. "It’s a very serious matter," Roos says. "The DNR would have to take a look at our options, but there would definitely be some type of enforcement action taken."

Anyone with information about the case is urged to call the DNR Field Office in Spencer at (712) 262-4177.

Roos says DNR investigators are interviewing Sac County hog producers about the matter. He says up to 50 dead hogs could have been dumped in the river, but many of them could have sunk or washed away.

Radio Iowa