Teen girl killed by pack of neglected dogs as she tried to help them, neighbors say
A teenage girl was killed in a 'horrific' attack by a pack of neglected dogs she had been caring for, authorities say.
Makayla Fortner, 15, was mauled to death 'by multiple dogs' in an enclosed area at a home in the community of Alexander, Arkansas. Around 30 rescues lived on the property.
Deputies from the Saline County Sheriff's Office said they were alerted to the attack around 12:15 p.m. Wednesday and arrived to find the teen already dead.n
Fortne had previously been helping to care for the animals as well as working to find them permanent homes, officials said.
With the assistance of Benton Animal Services, deputies seized multiple dogs from the property.
The dogs were a mix of pit bulls, pit bull crossbreeds, and hounds, Benton Animal Services spokesperson Matt Thibault told the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Officials told the newspaper that 14 dogs were euthanized in the wake of the incident.
Investigators said they are looking into how the 'sudden and tragic' attack unfolded.
Neighbors told ABC affiliate KATV said Fortner was attempting to feed the dogs before the deadly attack.
Ralph Murphy said that he witnessed a deputy fire two shots from a pistol to disperse some of the animals as he headed towards the victim.
'And then he walked over and looked down and turned around and walked back, and so I moved and I saw a body on the ground,' he said.
A friend of the victim's mother, Stephanie Wilkie, launched a GoFundMe page to support the family and help cover funeral expenses.
'On behalf of my dear friend Stephanie Wilkie, I am heartbroken to share the devastating news that her beloved 15-year-old daughter, Makayla Fortner, tragically passed away following a horrific dog attack,' organizer Erin Bowman wrote. 'This unimaginable loss has left her family in deep shock, grief, and emotional pain.'
Bowman described Fortner as 'a beautiful, bright girl with the kindest soul who had so much life ahead of her.'
Just days before the attack, Wilkie posted on Facebook that she and her daughter were looking after a litter of more than 40 puppies at the home of an elderly couple.
'So like normal, found myself in a hoarding situation of an older couple in their 80s with too many dogs,' she wrote on June 8, adding that there are 'puppies everywhere, 40+ and a litter born today.'
Neighbors said that they have complained multiple times about the dogs being uncontrolled and running away from the property.
'These dogs were very vicious at the fence to the point that no one wanted to let their children walk to and from the bus stop,' White Oak Drive resident Heidi Clay said.
"And if somebody had done something, then maybe this little girl would be alive.'
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