Rangers in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests have found another dead horse in the same area near Heber. It is the 17th horse found dead in six months.
Betty Nixon with the Wild Horse Freedom Preservation Alliance says they've set up cameras south of Heber to catch what they believe is a poacher in the act.
"There's some evil cowards out there that are doing this," she said, "and they need to be caught and they need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
Investigators with the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests are not ready to blame the latest death on man, but have confirmed ten out of the prior 16 wild horses, found dead since October, had evidence of gunshot wounds.
Those cases are still under investigation.
"You know they have to be able to have good, solid evidence to be able to take into court. So, they make sure they dot every 'i' and cross every T,'" says forest spokesman Steve Johnson.
He acknowledged it can be frustrating to wait, but said decomposition in this and six other cases has made it harder to tell the cause of death.
