For nearly 20 years, animal advocate Jennifer Raymond was convinced something suspicious was going on at Miranda's Rescue, but her repeated cries for authorities to investigate the Northern California animal shelter fell on deaf ears, she said.
He figured they were making good money to take in hundreds of shelter dogs every year, based on public records requests he filed. But he didn't understand where all the dogs were going at the time, given how difficult it can be to find foster homes for dogs in this rural area of Humboldt County, he said.
But after entering the neighborhood to rescue Fortuna, he said he saw large objects being dumped in a deep hole in the area, and he had a sinking feeling that he had seen them. On the night of April 26, Raymond and animal advocate Jenna Moore decided to take matters into their own hands, trespassing on her neighbor's property in search of answers, she said.
“We waited until dark and then we put on lights and shovels and gloves and phones and went out to the hole and jumped in and started digging,” he said.
An investigation into allegations of fraud and abuse of animals during rescue, according to authorities. No charges have been filed against its owner, Shannon Miranda, who did not respond to The Times' request for comment Thursday. In an earlier statement on his organization's website, he urged that there be no rush to judgement.
As Raymond and Moore began digging, they uncovered bodies covered in blood, many with bullet holes in their heads, Raymond said.
“Every time we uncovered a dog, we uncovered part of another dog, so we were just following the dog's trail,” he said. “We knew by the time we got to our fifth or sixth dog that we don't leave them there in this mass grave.”
In all, they took the carcasses of eight dogs home that night and later turned them over to the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, which served a search warrant on Miranda's Rescue on May 1. A copy of the search warrant affidavit obtained by local news outlet Lost Coast Outpost confirms Raymond's account information.
Since then, the Sheriff's Office has opened an extensive investigation into allegations of animal cruelty, animal cruelty, fraud, and conspiracy related to the zoo.
Investigators found that between January 2025 and May 2026, Miranda Rescue accepted more than 900 rescue animals from animal shelters and private citizens, but so far investigators have been able to track down adoption records for a limited number of them, Sheriff William Honsal said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
For each animal Miranda's Rescue took in, the organization charged $500 to several thousand dollars, he said.
Currently, about 730 animals are still missing, Honsal said on Tuesday.
In a June 18 statement on the organization's website, Miranda described the sanctuary as a “no-kill rescue” that doesn't send animals to shelters, but rescues them in dire situations such as chronic illness or when an animal attacks staff.
He asked people to consider all the facts before reaching a conclusion. “Allegations made without fully understanding the circumstances can not only damage my reputation but also the future of the organization that has served this community for decades,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Sheriff's Office began using ground-penetrating radar to search the ground at Miranda's Rescue in Fortuna for bodies.
They brought a mobile freezer to the scene to store the bodies as they were exhumed.
“We're thinking the worst case scenario,” Honsal said, “and we're here to book and uncover any evidence we can find.”
The Sheriff's Office completed its investigation Thursday afternoon, but had not released the number of animals found.
Raymond said he watched the search and counted at least 45 animal carcasses that were found.
“It is sad to see these innocent animals, in various stages of decomposition, being taken out and placed on a tarp and put in a black plastic bag for evidence,” he said.
For Raymond, who said he has been asking the Sheriff's Office to investigate the facility for years, this week's investigation brought mixed feelings. He is happy that the authorities are taking the allegations of rescue seriously but they are overwhelmed by the “evil darkness” of the bodies found.
When asked at a press conference Tuesday if the office dropped the ball in investigating previous complaints, Sheriff Honsal said, “We're looking at those past cases to see what was investigated, how it was investigated, to see if we didn't do our job well enough.”
In addition to digging up the property, investigators seized financial records, acquisition records and business records.
Currently, about 50 animals still live in the sanctuary, which does not require a work permit. Since no charges have been filed, Miranda has been allowed to continue operating his business at this time, Honsal said.
Both Honsal and Raymond said they hope the investigation will shed light on the broader problem of animal overcrowding in California.
“The government has been ignoring this issue for many years,” said Honsal. “I hope this case opens the eyes of many people and we will know that spay-and-neuter clinics will also help.”
Raymond has established two spay-and-neuter clinics in Humboldt County that treat 3,500 to 5,000 dogs and cats annually, collectively preventing tens of thousands of animal births, he said.
He is also an advocate for spaying and neutering, which costs a few hundred dollars, which is affordable. And while he wants more attention to rescues, he said the most important thing is to stop unwanted animal reproduction.
“We've been running animal shelters in California for over 150 years and we haven't solved the problem,” she said, “because we've never fixed the cause.”
