They were 5 weeks old when they were taken from their mom, then she went missing, too

Deming resident Natasha Van Hook and her family don’t have a lot of goats — she said they kept nine in one field and four in another.

Unfortunately, their flock of Nigerian Dwarf goats has gotten substantially smaller in the past week.

According to a report filed with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Van Hook and her family returned home Aug. 17 and noticed two baby goats — Wednesday and Mortisha — missing from a pen. There were no signs of a predator, according to Undersheriff Jeff Parks.

Van Hook said the goats were only a month and a week old and “my best colored ones.”

Two days later, two adult females disappeared — Leia, the baby goats’ mother, and Topaz, who belonged to and was being raised by Van Hook’s 12-year-old daughter.

Then a fifth doe, Daisy May, went missing between 9 p.m. Sunday and 1 a.m. Monday, Parks said. Daisy May is believed to be pregnant, Van Hook said.

Van Hook said her daughter, Emerald, is “doing the best she can” with the loss of the goats.

“She is sad and angry at the same time and also scared for her last goat that is still here,” Van Hook said. “She is also concerned because her other goat is the mother of Topaz and seems to be depressed, which got worse when my goat Daisy May was taken.”

Van Hook said she has been staying down by the field every night since the goats went missing to keep watch and has not seen any predator activity.

Parks said no evidence was found at the scene, so deputies have no leads or any information on suspects at this time.

“(The) report (has been) forwarded to the Humane Society,” Parks said. “(It) remains under investigation.”

Van Hook said deputies told her two other people in the area also have had goats go missing, and social media posts have indicated the same.

This story was originally published August 24, 2018 at 12:30 PM.