Longmont authorities are currently investigating a deeply troubling incident involving a family’s cat, which was cruelly killed and discarded in a river. The pet owners believe that the cat’s GPS collar helped them locate the site, but tragically, it was too late.
Holly Mathews and her boyfriend Travis adopted their cats, Basil and Parsley, while they were living in Norway during the pandemic. These cats were different from the norm, enjoying outdoor activities like hiking and biking.
“They kind of defied what cats do. They like hiking and biking and have this full sense of this fullness of life. Particularly with Basil,” explained Holly Mathews.
Despite the inherent risks of having outdoor cats, Mathews and Travis never anticipated what would happen to Basil.
“I’m not naive to think that aggravated animal cruelty doesn’t exist, but you always think ‘It couldn’t happen to me or my cat,'” said Mathews.
Due to Basil’s adventurous nature, the couple recently equipped her with a GPS collar, which allowed them to track her location in real-time. On a typical day, the app showed Basil moving around the neighborhood before returning home.
If Basil ventured beyond the neighborhood, her owners would receive a notification on their phone. That notification came at around 9 p.m. on Sunday, August 27, and Basil’s movements were highly unusual.
“She’s traveling. It looks like in a car, looking at the speed that she’s moving on the road,” recalled Mathews.
Horrified by this discovery, the couple immediately followed the GPS tracker, which led them southbound on Martin Street, then down East County Line Road, making a stop at the St. Vrain Greenway parking area, and finally ending at the bridge over St. Vrain Creek, just south of E. County Line and Zlaten Drive.
“We took what we thought was a faster way of traveling to kind of get to where they were. Then her GPS collar stopped moving in the river,” Mathews said. “We were probably not even two minutes behind.”
Tragically, they found Basil’s lifeless body in the riverbed.
“He pulled her out of a trash bag. Her body at that point was still warm,” Mathews recalled.
A subsequent necropsy revealed that Basil had been shot in the head, likely with a small caliber or pellet-style gun.
“So much anger and so much rage that someone did this to our family. [Basil] was my everything,” Mathews expressed.
The couple has been collaborating closely with Longmont police, who have launched an investigation into the matter. Authorities emphasized that there is never an acceptable reason to kill a cat, even if it is found on your property.
“You have to be pretty sick to do something like that. I would love to have a message for that person, but I don’t even understand those actions,” Mathews concluded.
