Investigators conduct excavation and inspection work at Miranda’s Rescue in Fortuna on last month. | Photo by Ryan Burns.

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Investigators with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office have identified 38 unique registered owners associated with microchips recovered from dog carcasses that were exhumed at Miranda’s Rescue in Fortuna during the execution of a criminal search warrant last month.

Six of those registered owners are animal shelters or rescue organizations elsewhere in the state, according to HCSO Public Information Specialist Erin Inskip. 

The retrieval of this data is part of the ongoing, multi-agency investigation into Miranda’s Rescue founder and owner Shannon Miranda over allegations of fraud, theft and animal cruelty. 

In emailed responses to a list of questions from the Outpost, Inskip explained that each microchip contains data identifying the individual or organization that implanted it, as well as the registered owner at the time the information was recorded.

“Ownership information may change over time, and microchip registration records are not always updated,” Inskip wrote. “As a result, previous private citizen owners may still be listed even if they subsequently surrendered the animal to a shelter, rescue organization, or another party.”

While 38 owners (or previous owners) were identified, data recovered from the chips identified 36 unique individuals or organizations responsible for implanting them. The majority of those were shelters and rescue organizations, Inskip said.

During last month’s three-day search and excavation at Miranda’s Rescue, investigators recovered 117 intact dog carcasses, 21 skulls and hundreds of bones. Asked whether necropsies of those carcasses have identified the causes of death, Inskip replied, “Due to the volume of examinations, the examination reports are not yet complete.”

Last week, the Outpost obtained a copy of the search warrant inventory of items recovered during the second search of the property, conducted June 23-25. The list includes four laptop computers, an iPhone, “copious” business records, microchip collars, notes on dog behavior, a credit card terminal and a Mossberg pump-action shotgun model 535 with a box of 12-gauge shells.

Inskip said investigators found the firearm beneath the bed in Miranda’s bedroom.

Asked why the gun wasn’t recovered during the first search of the property, on May 1, Inskip said, “It is unknown whether the firearm had been stored in a different location prior to the execution of the second search warrant.”

During that first search, investigators recovered multiple other firearms, including a Ruger 10/22 rifle, a Beretta .380 pistol and a Remington 870 model shotgun, each with ammunition. They also recovered a pellet gun, a BB gun and an air rifle. 

As previously reported, investigators found approximately 600 dog collars in a barn north of the main residence during last month’s search. The search warrant inventory also lists live .22-caliber rounds, spent .22-caliber shell casings and swabs of suspected blood recovered from that barn, which investigators identified as the suspected “kill zone” where countless dogs were likely shot dead.

Several animal shelters have been informed that dogs they delivered to Miranda’s Rescue were among the 117 found dead on the property. This includes 15 dogs from Oakland Animal Services, which reported sending a total of 827 dogs to Miranda’s Rescue since 2020. Miranda’s Rescue personnel had told staff at Oakland Animal Services that eight of the 15 dead dogs had been adopted, the shelter reported online.

A Monterey County shelter, Hitchcock Road Animal Services, confirmed that two dogs transferred from their facility were found dead during the investigation. Two dogs from Palm Springs Animal Shelter were also found deceased during the search.

Jenna Moore is one of the two Fortuna women (along with Jennifer Raymond) who exhumed eight dead dogs from Miranda’s Rescue in late April, kick-starting the current investigation. She said she understands the community’s frustration over the fact that Miranda has not been arrested and his rescue operation continues to operate. But in a message posted to Facebook and later forwarded to the Outpost, she urged patience.

“We have to allow HCSO and all involved agencies the time needed to build a solid case,” Moore’s message says. “It is frustrating. It feels slow. But there is nothing we can do except keep this case visible and loud … . I’d much rather see a thorough investigation that leads to accountability than a rushed one that leaves room for mistakes.”

The Sheriff’s Office is conducting its investigation in collaboration with multiple state and federal agencies, including the FBI, California Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Inspector General, California Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.  

Meanwhile, Moore estimates that there are still roughly 30 dogs and 20 cats awaiting adoption at Miranda’s Rescue. She and Raymond have both been advocating for increased support, both locally and statewide, for spay-and-neuter programs.

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