$100,000 Worth Of Cattle Stolen From Okmulgee Ranch

A family who makes a living from ranching is in a world of hurt after thieves targeted their ranch twice within two weeks, stealing thousands of dollars worth of cattle.

This is the largest theft that has ever happened at the Langford Herefords ranch in Okmulgee, which has been around for 75 years. Within two weeks, more than $100,000 worth of cattle was stolen.

"Its a real shame to be honest with you," said owner Watson Langford.

Watson Langford has grown up on his family's ranch. Raising cattle is his livelihood, so you can only imagine the gut-wrenching feeling when he learned criminals stole eight cows, nine calves and two bulls.

"Just sick at your stomachs. It's about like a family member dying when you lose that," Langford said.

"We deal with this every day and the issue with cattle theft is it is a low-risk, high-reward crime," said Special Ranger Bart Perrier.

Perrier said nearly 100 cattle thefts happen in Oklahoma each year, but this one is different.

"The cattle are very unique," Perrier said. "Anytime you get into embryo transplanted livestock, the genetics are unique and special and they're a little bit more distinctive."

"They're not just regular, everyday, go-through-the-sale-barn kind of cattle. These are genetically put together over 75 years," Langford said.

Each is branded with the family's trademark. They're also tattooed on their ears so they can be easily identified.

Investigators won't release how the cattle were stolen, but Langford said two of the family's best bulls were in the bunch.

"It's taken our family a lot of years to produce some of these cattle and some of the cattle they've taken is some of the best stuff we've ever raised in three generation's life," Langford said. "It's a real big blow to a small family farm."

There is a $10,000 reward for anyone who has information that would lead to an arrest. If you know anything, you're asked to call investigators at 1-800-242-7820.