TAOS, N.M. – Authorities in Taos Pueblo are investigating whether a woman died as a result of an attack by a pack of dogs.
Pueblo Gov. Edwin Concha said the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator was looking into the Jan. 8 death, the Taos News reported Thursday.
According to a dispatch log from Taos County officials, someone reported seeing several dogs around a woman’s body. The caller said she got the dogs away from the body and saw bite marks on the victim’s arms and legs.
The log did not specify how many dogs were involved and whether they were wild.
Concha declined to identify the woman. However, Sandra Bible, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, told the newspaper the woman was her sister, 52-year-old Kay Torres. The Office of the Medical Investigator confirmed that a woman of the same name and age was brought there. But no official cause of death was disclosed.
Tribal policy dictates that a home can keep no more than two dogs. However, residents say that policy is often not enforced and dog attacks have been a problem.
The Taos Police Department and Taos County sheriff’s officials reported 24 and 56 dog attacks last year, respectively.
