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• Search Warrant Served at Miranda’s Rescue Amid Allegations of Felony Animal Abuse, Fraud and Conspiracy

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Cities in the Eel River Valley are placing their contracts with Miranda’s Rescue on pause, after the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation of the Fortuna-based animal rescue operation on Friday evening.

The cities of Fortuna, Ferndale and Rio Dell each have contracts with the nonprofit for animal control services — to take care of strays and other animals that end up in city custody — and each say they will be suspending those arrangements for the time being.

On Monday, Ferndale City Manager Kristene Hall sent a letter to Shannon Miranda, the president and founder of the organization, saying that the city would not be sending animals to the organization’s headquarters on Drake Hill Road in Fortuna, pending the outcome of the investigation:

Effective immediately, and pending the effective date of termination, the City is suspending all referrals, deliveries, and placement of animals with Miranda’s Rescue due to the pending criminal investigation and the City’s resulting concerns regarding continuity of services, animal welfare, and compliance with applicable contractual and legal requirements.

Hall added that the Ferndale Police Chief would be in touch with Miranda’s Rescue “regarding the status and disposition of any City animals currently in your care, including records relating to receipt, treatment, disposition, transfer, adoption, euthanasia, or release of such animals.”

In a letter to members of the Ferndale City Council, the city manager said that she and the police chief would be looking at installing equipment at the police station, so that the city could look after its own strays.

Fortuna Police Chief Matt Eberhardt and Rio Dell City Manager Kyle Knopp each confirmed to the Outpost that their cities had similar contracts with Miranda’s Rescue, and would likewise stop sending stray animals to the organization while the Sheriff’s Office’s investigation was underway.

Records from Rio Dell show that the city has been paying Miranda’s Rescue a flat fee of $1,900 per month for caring for animals that end up in city custody.

Miranda’s Rescue — founded by Shannon Miranda in 1998 — has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the county’s preeminent animal-related charities. Local obituaries frequently ask mourners to donate to the organization in the name of the deceased.

In a press release issued Saturday, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office wrote that it had “received credible information regarding allegations of felony animal abuse, animal cruelty, fraud and conspiracy” before serving a search warrant at the nonprofit’s headquarters on Drake Hill Road in Fortuna.

Reached today, the Sheriff’s Office said it didn’t have any additional comment on the matter at this time. A voicemail left at Miranda’s Rescue’s main phone number was not returned before publication.