Owners Don’t Have a Cow Over Not Having a Cow

By Eric Heinz

The bovine fixture in front of The Cellar in San Clemente was stolen for a brief period of time at midnight on Saturday, Sept. 10.

San Clemente Police Chief Dave Moodie said it was taken by friends of a competitor at the Hurley Pro, who allegedly wanted to pull a prank on their surfing companion.

The cow was later returned “unharmed,” Moodie said.

“I guess the ‘suspects’ were part of the Hurley Pro, just renting a place for the event, and this turned into a prank,” Moodie said.

An OCSD helicopter that was already in the area spotted the alleged thieves, and deputies responded to find the cow.

The cow was spotted by an anonymous informant who supposedly witnessed the incident.

“The helicopter was patrolling the area with no particular mission at the time and picked up on the cow,” Moodie said. “We were able to basically follow it to the residence, and we made contact on the ground.”

Because the owners didn’t want to press charges, the suspects’ names were not booked into official record.