Winchendon farm owner gets stolen cow skull back

A business owner in Winchendon, Massachusetts, got back a precious item stolen from his property several days ago.

Andy Brooks Jr. got back his stolen cow skull on Tuesday. It's not worth a lot of money, but he says it has a ton of sentimental value, coming from one of his first Texas longhorns, which died of old age.

"I wanted to keep her skull and put it on the wall, so I could continue to remember her," Brooks said.

The skull was stolen from his barn behind the dairy bar he co-owns in Winchendon, with hundreds of people on social media trying to help brooks find it. They even donated to increase the reward money from $200 to more than $2,000.

"Social media was crazy with how many shares I got, and I really appreciate it," Brooks said.

Brooks got security cameras after the skull theft, and on Tuesday, he said they captured suspicious activity.

"Kids [were] taking stuff out of the barn, so I ran up there and I went in the barn and I noticed that they ran out through the back of the barn, so I followed them," Brooks said.

Brooks said those kids led him to a house nearby with his cow skull outside, and he said the boys denied knowing how the skull ended up on that property.

Winchendon police said three boys — a 12-year-old and two 13-year-olds, who are not related — were charged with misdemeanor breaking and entering.

"At this point, there may be some other charges coming forward, but we're not there yet," said Lt. Kevin Wolski of the Winchendon Police Department.

Brooks said he was just happy to have his cow skull back at home.

"I can't believe somebody would steal from us," Brooks said. "But the amount of support that I got from everyone in town and surrounding towns is just incredible."

Police could only say the kids would appear in court at a later date.