# Stolen Mule Please Help



## theview (Dec 2, 2010)




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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

you should post on netposse.com they are a great site, many horses have been found using that site. Good luck. Hope you find him soon.


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

Can you give us more info like location, age?


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## theview (Dec 2, 2010)

Yes, well he was stolen from Alabama and then went to Georgia, from there we aren't sure. He in his teens but the people whom stole him we believe said he was much younger. There is a facebook page " Help find Travlin Soldier, Stolen Mule"


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## leonalee (Jul 1, 2010)

What are the circumstances surrounding him "being stolen"? Thanks, and good luck!


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## theview (Dec 2, 2010)

He was being boarded at a place in Alabama. He was stolen from there. He definitely went to council farms in Georgia. But they won't say were or who they got him from or sold him too....He is still missing.Please help find him.


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## leonalee (Jul 1, 2010)

Was he actually stolen, or is there more to this story involving back-owed board? In either case, I am sorry for your loss, but if there is more to this story that you are not elaborating on, it is very wrong of you to post this mule as "stolen".


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## theview (Dec 2, 2010)

No there are no back board issues, no missed payments he was flat out stolen.


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

Council Farms is around my area. I'll keep an eye out.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Did they contact Netposse (as was already mentioned)?


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## Regan7312 (Jul 5, 2010)

Brighteyes said:


> Council Farms is around my area. I'll keep an eye out.


 
I just thought it was cool, I could not help noticing you are pretty darn close to me..Im in Eatonton


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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

Someone care to tell me WHEN he was stolen? I find it REALLY funny there is a video that is over a YEAR old of him at Council Farms

YouTube - Ollie - 9 year old mule


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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

Not to mention he was still being advertised for sale by Council Farms as of October of this year. That's almost a year and a half that he was openly advertised for sale by Council Farms. He also has not been reported to Net Posse either.


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

Regan7312 said:


> I just thought it was cool, I could not help noticing you are pretty darn close to me..Im in Eatonton


I'm in McRae.  Sometimes in Dublin too.


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## theview (Dec 2, 2010)

thank you so much they are really missing this guy


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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

theview, I'm sorry to call you out, but can you please provide more information about this? All of your posts, both here and on other forums, completely dance around the circumstances of his disappearance. You also failed to mention that he has been missing for a year and a half at the LEAST. The owner lives in Ohio, the daughter had taken him with her down south and that's where things have kind've left off. No Netposse report has been filed either. You have openly listed farm and individual names on this forum and others accusing them of theft. I'm sorry to be such a skeptic, but there are huge gaping holes in this story.


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## theview (Dec 2, 2010)

Well Amanda, He has been missing for a year, We thought the law would take care of it they havent so we are taking it to the internet. He was stolen from Jeff Bynams in Alabama. From there He has changed hand multiple times. He hasn't been at council farms for at least 9 months but they find it necessary to keep him on their webpage. They will not give any information when or where they got the mule from or to whom he was sold to. If you are a member of net posse then you know and have a copy of the police report. They do their own investigation prior to putting it out in the public. If you would like to question this then can deb metcaf the head of the posse. We are not giving every detail of his being stolen, under guidance of our lawyer. We don't want to scare off who ever bought him. We just want a safe return of the this mule who is really a member of the family. I am sure if it was your appy missing you would want everyone to help you find him


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## theview (Dec 2, 2010)




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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

Ok, but as asked of you on another forum, why were you looking at purchasing from Council Farms in mid November?


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## theview (Dec 2, 2010)

Yes and we were trying to find out if anyone had possibly bought him or new of someone who did> I don't understand why you are being so negative about this. Luckly we did get a really good lead out of that forum. We just want him back. Now if you have any information please feel free to message me. It seems like you are very invested in this case.


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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

I'm not being negative. I'm being skeptical. You are openly defaming Council Farms and Jeff Bynam without providing any details surrounding the disappearance at the suggestion of your lawyer. Did your lawyer not advise you against defaming people on a public forum? You are opening yourself to a case of libel.

I am more than open to hearing information about this case if it means legitimately bringing him home. There are just very big gaps in this story. Could you please answer the following questions so I can have a better understanding?

1. How long has he truly been missing? 
2. Why was nothing done when he was listed at Council Farms from June 2009 until October 15, 2010?
3. It has been stated the police went out there. Why were they not able to secure any information? I'm curious as it leads me to believe they had appropriate sales documentation. 

Like I said, I'm more than interested and willing to assist in bringing this boy home if he was in fact stolen. Is it possible the daughter sold him while she was down south and when the mother found out, she didn't approve? With a lack of information, we are more hesitant to hop on the "stolen" bandwagon. I'm sorry if you find this offensive.


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## theview (Dec 2, 2010)

Amarea said:


> 2. Why was nothing done when he was listed at Council Farms from June 2009 until October 15, 2010?


 - 


Like I said earlier he hasn't been on there farm for months.
Well I am not going into the other parties involved in MULE thieving. I think am in the belief you are here to support the thieves and thats fine, to each his own. Its amazing how you know so much exact information. And no The daughter didn't sell the mule, There is much more to this however I am not the one to talk to> Like I said earlier if you know anything please contact message me. 
If you would like to contact the police in Alabama they can tell you what you would like to know. Its not my place to say ALL parties involved.


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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

ALL the information I know? My exact source is YOU! The only info I have is what you've posted on other forums and on Facebook. I support Mule thieves? No, I don't and have many members of this forum that can attest to that. Do I like mules? Of course! My barn owner just purchased one from the kill pen at the auction and I love her to pieces! I do not support Mule thieves but I also don't support people who potentially have lost the animal legally by not paying board, etc and who are trying to get it back despite not being able to care for it in the first place. This is why I'm curious about what the whole story is and not just your version. Again, not negativity, not support for the other parties, simply skeptical.

Posted by you on another forum to show where I'm getting my information: 


> No at first some people in the sale mule world thought they had heard about him being sold to someone in that area. The family is following ever lead possible.NO JEFF was not the trainer. *The mule is owned by Pam Goins in Ohio. Her daughter moved south and took the mule with her and she was keeping him at Bynams.* They don't want to incriminate who owns the mule now. They just want him back. They are willing to buy him from who ever purchased him from who ever......They are offering a substantial reward!


http://www.flahorse.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27270
My other source is the Facebook page you listed as well as the comments posted on that page.


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## theview (Dec 2, 2010)

OK Well Guess what hes still stolen! All his family wants is to get him back. Like I said MULTIPLE TIMES.....He 14.1 H sorrel John Mule, Scar on left shoulder. Who ever has him please return him to his owners, they will buy him from you if thats what it takes


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

Strange, and I too wonder why you will not answer Amarea's questions.


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## loveBradforever (Oct 6, 2010)

omg! ok, now who steals family's pets (members) now seriously????? 
and once you said there's a facebook page, i immediatelyliked it. My gosh, Hope you find him!!


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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

Every time I comment on the FB page about the fact that he's been missing over a year, it is immediately deleted.

I did talk with Debi at NetPosse and she said that they have had this report for quite some time but that there is not enough information or evidence to substantiate him being placed on either the stolen or missing lists. To me, this speaks VOLUMES. There is something more to this story than they are giving. Why are you just missing your mule now over a year and a half after he's been gone?


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## bama20a (Nov 27, 2008)

theview said:


> He was being boarded at a place in Alabama. He was stolen from there. He definitely went to council farms in Georgia. But they won't say were or who they got him from or sold him too....He is still missing.Please help find him.


I'm not claiming to know the law,But to me Council farms could be charged with buying & receiving stolen property.


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## Snookeys (Sep 23, 2010)

Why don't you just go to Council Farms and see if he's there? I'm rather confused about your situation. You know his whereabouts, but you don't know where he is...?


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## AppyLuva (Oct 25, 2010)

theview said:


> OK Well Guess what hes still stolen! All his family wants is to get him back. Like I said MULTIPLE TIMES.....He 14.1 H sorrel John Mule, Scar on left shoulder. Who ever has him please return him to his owners, they will buy him from you if thats what it takes


I'd hate to sound rude or against you, but it doesn't make sense why you wouldn't answer the questions that others have asked. If you want this Mule to be found then your going to have to give us more information. How do you expect us to help you if you refuse to give us the needed information? If you knew where he had been placed before why didn't you go to the stable? Your situation seems to be out of order and confusing. Please try to organize the way you give information.


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## apachiedragon (Apr 19, 2008)

bama20a said:


> I'm not claiming to know the law,But to me Council farms could be charged with buying & receiving stolen property.


There is no proof they did anything except maybe buy a mule from an auction or something of the sort. So far nobody has said that they for sure had any part of it, other than having him listed for sale. Who knows how many people he went through before going there, if he was ever stolen to begin with, etc. 

The OP refuses to answer questions, so either he/she either doesn't know the answers, or is covering something up. Im guessing the first, since another forum got suspicious of the same OP for the same "stolen mule" as well and lack of real info. I doubt here is also any affiliation between the OP and the mule at all since this was the first post at another forum by the same OP.
"Hey everyone, Help find a stolen mule. I just found out about this facebook page its "Help Find Travlin Soldier, Stolen Mule" He was last seen on the council farms webpage!"

So apparently this is just a random person on a crusade for a mule she doesn't know. And then gets huffy when asked for details...


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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

Snookeys said:


> Why don't you just go to Council Farms and see if he's there? I'm rather confused about your situation. You know his whereabouts, but you don't know where he is...?


According to the posts made on a different board (I linked it earlier in the thread) the cops have already been to Council Farms and nothing came of it. The more information I am getting, the more this is sounding like an Agister's Lien that they don't agree with. Council Farms had him from 6/2009 to 10/2010 and he was HEAVILY advertised during that time as shown by the cached versions of their page, the YouTube videos, etc. They didn't keep it a secret. Jeff Bynum, the person she claims "lost" him initially is ironically a Mule trader and auctioneer. If it's not an Agister's Lien, then possibly he was sold by the daughter and when mom found out she played the "oh, he was stolen" card?

Here's what doesn't add up to me:
1) They are making this appear to be a recent theft when in fact it's more than a year and a half old
2) SHI/NetPosse _*HAS*_ this report and has had it for some time yet they don't have enough information and/or evidence to post it on the site. This alone makes me think that there is something not right with this situation
3) Why would the cops go to Council Farms and do nothing if this was a theft? Again, this makes it sound like an Agister's Lien or a legitimate sale.
4) Why not disclose some of the information I've asked for? It's legitimate information that any stolen report should/would need. 
5) Any time I try to point out this is not a recent theft, they are deleting my posts. Why hide it?

There is something fishy in Denmark as the saying goes...


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## apachiedragon (Apr 19, 2008)

I did wonder why the FB page is so new when the "theft" is so old. The whole thing reeks of fake... If they knew where he was, and he was stolen, why didn't they go after him while he was still there? And if they are offering to buy him back now, why didn't they just buy him from Council Farms when they had him if they wanted him back so badly?


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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

I've even had the President of NASMA or NAMSA whichever it is, his wife emailed me as she had seen my comment before it was deleted. They are very familiar with Soldier and word on the circuit is Agister's Lien. He hasn't been seen on the circuit since 2008.


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

I was concerned about this mule initially so I asked for more information about the mule as I thought it was stolen. However since more information has come out, I emailed Council Farms informing them of this thread, as there is no evidence that this mule was stolen. It is a terrible thing to slander a business especially all over the internet when they might not know about it.


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## leonalee (Jul 1, 2010)

*VENT... probably new post, actually...*

This is awful, and exactly what I suspected. I left a message for the administrators asking if it were possible to just pull down public availability for posting Stolen horses. For instance: verify the profile of a given individual from an organization such as NetPosse, where they do their homework before they advertise "lost" and "stolen" horses. In my ideal horsey world, the "verified" poster can make "stolen" ads for horses who are legitimately stolen. Then, this site will become a reputable avenue for such organizations to reach people in the public who may not otherwise go to the NetPosse website regularly to see about "stolen" horses... the word would be out, and it would protect others from libel/slander situations. I can say from first hand experience that the utilization of these forums by people who are crooked has the potential to create a very limited life potential for these beautiful, innocent animals. This limited potential includes being rehomed to beautiful, loving well-meaning and INNOCENT people, participating in competition, and so forth. I hope the current owners can take comfort in the fact that the reputation of the person claiming "STOLEN" is already extremely tarnished by their own doing, and those who know the former owners who are making these claims KNOW the truth behind those claims. 

I know from our situations, the people owning horses who are faced with Agister's Liens and subsequent lien foreclosures already have very poor reputations within the local equine community. The only people who believe their lies are the people who are already on the same level of pathetic underhanded mindsets. It would be awesome if there were some sort of overseeing organization who had a legal avenue for having a boarder-blacklist... sort of like when people repeatedly bounce checks and the checks are posted for the public to see. Credit card companies have this, apartment/home rental/sales have this, etc... why can't we? Of course, not just gossipy "These people suck" claims, but rather, substantiated "They have not paid board in x-# of months..." or "They have not paid for veterinary care in x-# of days", etc. There _has _to be something us barn owners can do to protect our assets. 

To have people think it is our responsibility to pay for their horses, and then turn around and have access to public forums like this one, that are meant to be reputable "helpful" locations and post these things is just absolutely rediculous. I know it is impossible to block these idiots from creating repeated profiles and whatnot, BUT, it is not impossible to create a reputable forum for "Stolen" ads within this forum. Additionally, it wouldn't block people from posting these stolen ads on other places in the forum, but with the availability of NetPosse or another reputable organization posting in a "verified" forum, it would help the rest of us decipher reputable from non-reputable and would therefore help protect those at risk from libel.


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## Mypaintcanjump (Dec 11, 2010)

:-(ill keep my eyes out sorry hes missing


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## MaggiStar (Mar 19, 2010)

Who are you in relation to the owners?
This stinks of troll


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## Lakotababii (Nov 28, 2010)

apachiedragon said:


> I did wonder why the FB page is so new when the "theft" is so old. The whole thing reeks of fake... If they knew where he was, and he was stolen, why didn't they go after him while he was still there? And if they are offering to buy him back now, why didn't they just buy him from Council Farms when they had him if they wanted him back so badly?





My thoughts exactly. I am pretty sure I am speaking for everyone on this forum when I say I would pay ANYTHING I had to get my horse back, even to the person who "stole" her. I would get her back from council farms, and then have the police take over and possibly get my money back. Even if I didn't get reimbursed, it would be worth every penny having to buy her back again.


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## Mypaintcanjump (Dec 11, 2010)

im not in relation with the owners


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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

She didn't mean you, she meant the person who posted this thread.


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## AppyLuva (Oct 25, 2010)

Amarea said:


> According to the posts made on a different board (I linked it earlier in the thread) the cops have already been to Council Farms and nothing came of it. The more information I am getting, the more this is sounding like an Agister's Lien that they don't agree with. Council Farms had him from 6/2009 to 10/2010 and he was HEAVILY advertised during that time as shown by the cached versions of their page, the YouTube videos, etc. They didn't keep it a secret. Jeff Bynum, the person she claims "lost" him initially is ironically a Mule trader and auctioneer. If it's not an Agister's Lien, then possibly he was sold by the daughter and when mom found out she played the "oh, he was stolen" card?
> 
> Here's what doesn't add up to me:
> 1) They are making this appear to be a recent theft when in fact it's more than a year and a half old
> ...


There's something really fishy about this report. Why refuse to answer the needed questions and why delete a post that's speaking the truth when you claim that you'd do anything to get the mule back? I'm going to follow what you think due to the fact that we are on the same page and you have the accurate information about this report if that's ok with you Amarea. Everything about this report screams at me that this is a fake.


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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

netposse.com - Two Mules Stolen in Etowah County, AL, in 2009 – Soldier tracked to GA and Sammie to NM

He's now on Netposse. I'm still remaining skeptical. Missing date? 6/1/09. Reported date? 7/19/2010. Why wait over a year to report him missing? Yes, I will admit I am cynical in my skepticism but this whole situation just doesn't add up.


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## AppyLuva (Oct 25, 2010)

Amarea said:


> netposse.com - Two Mules Stolen in Etowah County, AL, in 2009 – Soldier tracked to GA and Sammie to NM
> 
> He's now on Netposse. I'm still remaining skeptical. Missing date? 6/1/09. Reported date? 7/19/2010. Why wait over a year to report him missing? Yes, I will admit I am cynical in my skepticism but this whole situation just doesn't add up.


I so agree with you!


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## sandhillsgage (Jan 16, 2011)

By chance does he have a microchip? I hope you find him soon.


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## MuleGal (Jan 25, 2011)

Thank you for everyone's concern. We just got news that Soldier has passed away.


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## Lakotababii (Nov 28, 2010)

MuleGal said:


> Thank you for everyone's concern. We just got news that Soldier has passed away.


Wait what? Are you the original owner, the one looking for Soldier? How did he pass away, and if you couldn't find him, how would you know he passed away? Im confused...


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## Lakotababii (Nov 28, 2010)

MuleGal said:


> Thank you for everyone's concern. We just got news that Soldier has passed away.



And I just checked the facebook page for Soldier, the post 2 hours ago said they were still looking for him.... And thanked everyone for helping to find him... and I quote 
*SOLDIER and his family are very so Thankful that we have honest and true friends ,,to all of you A BIG THANK YOU!! We will find you Soldier and bring you back home. *


this makes no sense. this was posted after you said he passed away. Time signature about 730 ish...


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## I love horses (Jan 30, 2011)

I'm so sorry.
I will post this on, so maybe someone will find your horse.


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## hflmusicislife (Dec 15, 2010)

^^^ Uhh... I'm with Amarea and Lakota... This seems so fake. And to say the animal passed away... There's definitely something wrong with this whole thing.:shock:


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## AppyLuva (Oct 25, 2010)

I'm not trying to open a can of worms, but how would you get the word that your mule is dead if you claimed that he went missing? I just feel like there's more to this than what appears...:?


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## apachiedragon (Apr 19, 2008)

And no mention of his death on the FB page still. I'm calling major BS on this one. Or someone who actually has him or knows where he is not wanting people to keep looking for him...


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## Haylee (Feb 2, 2011)

Why are people trying to push her into the ground? Her animal is missing and Im sure that all she needs right now is some comfort and knowing that there are people keeping an eye out for him. It is (in my opinion) no ones place to sit there and tell her she is lying/covering something up/ etc. If any of you were in her situation I know that you would feel as stressed and upset as she is. She didnt post on here saying "please comment on my missing mule and tell me how its my fault;" She simply asked for people to keep an eye out for him. I am sorry if anyone is offended by this, but I have had missing animals before and the last thing you need is to have people try to pin it on them.

I hope you find him soon, he is beautiful, and Im sure you are missing him badly.


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## apachiedragon (Apr 19, 2008)

I understand that Haylee, but the OP wasn't even in connection with the owners, and was posting a lot of secondhand misinformation. If the OP had actually been the owner, maybe she would have been able to answer our questions and the thread would not have gone the way it did. There is a lot that is suspicious with this case, including the fact that they knew where the mule was at one point and did not go get him. In fact it took them over a year to report him stolen. But the owner of the mule is not even here. And to the best of everyone's knowledge, the mule is NOT deceased, so that info SHOULD be out there for everyone to see, so that they DON'T stop looking for the mule if he is still missing, which was probably what this MuleGal wanted, who showed up out of nowhere, made one post, and then disappeared again.


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## HopalongCassidy (Dec 19, 2010)

WOW!?!?!?!?!?! Anyone want to give 'O Hopalong a good explanation about whats happening? Thanks if ya do i need to know so i can help.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

HopalongCassidy said:


> WOW!?!?!?!?!?! Anyone want to give 'O Hopalong a good explanation about whats happening? Thanks if ya do i need to know so i can help.


Read the thread.


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## HopalongCassidy (Dec 19, 2010)

^^ I did but it's so confusing. First the one that made this it's her mules missing then it's not even her mule and then it's been missing for over a year then they finally made it a missing mule and then it's not missing then they know it was at some farm. And then it died. My gosh someone messed up on this thread.


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## apachiedragon (Apr 19, 2008)

It was a mess. I'll take a crack at most likely scenario for you. The OP shows up trying to find this mule. Most likely she ran across the FB page for him and wanted the reward they were offering for information. She had no connection to said mule. She also posted the same stuff on other forums and got called out there too. In trying to find info to help the OP, before we found out she didn't know anything, we discovered that the mule had been taken from a barn over a year before it was reported. Again, most likely, the owners owed back board or something of the sort, and the mule was sold to cover those bills. After a year, the owners decided that enough time had passed that they could report the mule stolen, and get him back that way. They knew the mule had been at the trader's farm, but my guess (this is just a guess, mind you) is that they had to wait for the mule to be sold to someone before they could claim it stolen, because probably whoever sold the mule to the traders was the one owed money by the original owners. I'm sure they had hopes that whoever had bought the mule would hear about it, feel bad, and then give him back. There is no other reason to wait a year to report the mule stolen.

The person who claimed the mule had died was either someone looking to stir up a dead thread for kicks, or (again, just my GUESS, since this was their only post) is possibly the person in possession of the mule now OR maybe someone who knows where it is, and is sick of all the publicity about a stolen mule that wasn't really stolen. Can you imagine buying a horse and then being told it was stolen and how much they miss it and want it back, when it was never stolen to begin with, but sold to pay debts? 

But it's really a moot point, since the OP and MuleGal have not been around for a while now.


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## HopalongCassidy (Dec 19, 2010)

OK, i get it.


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## Dances with Horses (Feb 25, 2011)

apachiedragon said:


> It was a mess. I'll take a crack at most likely scenario for you. The OP shows up trying to find this mule. Most likely she ran across the FB page for him and wanted the reward they were offering for information. She had no connection to said mule. She also posted the same stuff on other forums and got called out there too. In trying to find info to help the OP, before we found out she didn't know anything, we discovered that the mule had been taken from a barn over a year before it was reported. Again, most likely, the owners owed back board or something of the sort, and the mule was sold to cover those bills. After a year, the owners decided that enough time had passed that they could report the mule stolen, and get him back that way. They knew the mule had been at the trader's farm, but my guess (this is just a guess, mind you) is that they had to wait for the mule to be sold to someone before they could claim it stolen, because probably whoever sold the mule to the traders was the one owed money by the original owners. I'm sure they had hopes that whoever had bought the mule would hear about it, feel bad, and then give him back. There is no other reason to wait a year to report the mule stolen.
> 
> The person who claimed the mule had died was either someone looking to stir up a dead thread for kicks, or (again, just my GUESS, since this was their only post) is possibly the person in possession of the mule now OR maybe someone who knows where it is, and is sick of all the publicity about a stolen mule that wasn't really stolen. Can you imagine buying a horse and then being told it was stolen and how much they miss it and want it back, when it was never stolen to begin with, but sold to pay debts?
> 
> But it's really a moot point, since the OP and MuleGal have not been around for a while now.


I'd have to agree with what Apache has said so far. The thread made no sense and if it would've been organized it wouldn't have gone this way. This person had NO connection to the owners and the information was mostly secondhand misinformation.


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