UPDATE: At least 25 horses found dead at Wicomico Co. property; investigation ongoing

An investigation is underway after deputies say at least 25 horses were found dead at a Quantico property.

Nicole Constante, a resident of Quantico for the past three years, spoke up hoping her voice would change things for the horses on the property.

She says she has walked by the farm before, and has heard from others about the owner, Barbare Pilchard.  What she saw on her walk Thursday night was something she had never seen.  A small, dead horse lying on the ground.  An trail of odor leading to the grim sight.

Constante contacted a local media outlet instead of law enforcement or any animal authorities.

Her reasoning, "the sheriff hasn't done anything.  Any authorities, animal control.  I don't know what it's going to take, but I'm not going to stop until I know that these horses are out of here."

The Wicomico County Sheriff's Office and the Wicomico County Animal Control began an investigation into the report of dead horses at 6550 Cherrywalk Road on Friday morning.

Authorities say at least 25 dead horses were found at the 100-acre location.

The tragic part is that Barbara Pilchard, the owner of the farm, has been called in dozens of times.

"And the more people I talked to in the horse community were aware of her.  And she had a long, outstanding list of violations and animal abuse, neglect over the years," said Constante.

Police confirmed that they have received a laundry list of calls.

Constante hopes the investigation can lead to the 100-or-so horses alive on the property finding safer homes.

At this time, the horses' cause of death and how long they were at the location remains under investigation. The animals will undergo an autopsy to confirm their cause of death, as well as if they were neglected or abused.  

Law enforcement reports that the dead animals' remains were in various states of decay.

Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis tells 47ABC, "I'm shocked at what I saw. I was absolutely appalled at the living conditions, not just of the horses and the animals, but also the homeowners. I'm shocked that anyone could live like that." 

47ABC found that in 2014, the same two people, Paige and Barbara Pilchard, and the same home were the target of another investigation involving animals. 

The Sheriff's Office has confirmed that they did respond to allegations of animal cruelty at the same address back in 2014, and that they called the same kind of experts that they did today.

Sheriff Mike Lewis says that while they found the living conditions were not ideal there was no indication that any laws were broken. So far in this case for what was found today, no charges have been filed.

47ABC also notes that Barbara Pilchard was charged in an incident back in 1995. In that case, there were almost 100 charges, some of those were for animal cruelty. Pilchard was never prosecuted in that case. 

Anyone with information related to the investigation is asked to call the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office at 410-548-4891.

47ABC will continue to provide updates as they become available.