17-year-old girl mauled by large group of dogs; criminal investigation underway
San Bernardino County sheriff's detectives are investigating the mauling of a 17-year-old girl in Newberry Springs whose family members say nearly died in the attack.
By Rob McMillan
Click here for updates on this story
NEWBERRY SPRINGS, California (KABC) — San Bernardino County sheriff’s detectives are investigating the mauling of a 17-year-old girl in Newberry Springs whose family members say nearly died in the attack.
Sixteen dogs were seized from a property near the location of the attack. Detectives say the large breed dogs were not fenced, nor were they leashed.
“I thought they ripped her arms off,” said Maria Azpeitia about the condition of her daughter Tracy at the time of the incident. “That’s what it looked like.”
The attack happened on the morning of July 17 in the 30000 block of Newberry Road. Azpeitia said Tracy was out for a morning jog on a dirt road not far from the family’s home, heading toward a workout facility near the community center.
“I thought she was going to be fine because she walks to her bus stop every morning, so I never thought anything would happen to her,” said Azpeitia.
An alert neighbor heard Tracy’s cries for help during the attack and called 911. By the time Azpeitia arrived at the scene, she said the wounds to her daughter were so severe she was unrecognizable.
“I didn’t know who she was,” said Azpeitia. “She was so dirty, covered in dirt, so I couldn’t recognize my daughter. I recognized her bra, that’s what I recognized.”
“I got close to her and [she asked me] ‘Mom, am I still pretty? and I said, ‘Yeah, you’re beautiful.'”
Tracy’s stepfather, Carlos Ramirez, said she required more than 500 stitches for bites, lacerations and scratches.
Recently released from Loma Linda Children’s Hospital, she still cannot walk on her own.
“What was going through my mind was the worst,” said Ramirez. “It was not one dog or two dogs, it was a lot. I mean, they bit every part of her body you could think of except for her ankles.”
Members of the community say they’re not just worried about these dogs in particular, but dogs that are abandoned in the desert that are left to roam free.
“We have been in situations where we’re out walking, and all of a sudden dogs rush out from a fence, or out of nowhere, and start circling around us,” said resident Kristine Watson.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the dog mauling. The dogs believed to be involved in the attack are currently housed at the Barstow Humane Society.
Meantime, a GoFundMe has been created to raise money to help with Tracy’s recovery.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
