Indiana: Vicious pack of pit bulls maul two female cousins out for a run, ripping woman's scalp off in horrific 30-minute 'feeding frenzy'

INDIANA -- A vicious pack of pit bulls has mauled two women who were out for a run - ripping the scalp off one and leaving the other with deep wounds all over her body.

Cousins Isabella George, 19, and Rebekah Forgey, 20, were out jogging in Carroll County, Indiana, when the four ravenous dogs charged at them.

The terrified women made a dash across a field towards their home but the hounds caught up with them and took them to ground before tearing at their flesh in what police describe as a 30-minute 'feeding frenzy'.

 The dogs bit off more than 75 per cent of Rebekah's scalp and ripped muscle from her leg. She is in hospital in intensive care, where her condition has been described as stable.

Isabella was bitten from head to toe, with gruesome pictures revealing deep puncture wounds and large bruises all over her body. She is recovering at home.

The young women fought for half an hour with the dogs, whose owner, Richard Darter, tried to stop the attack - only to be bitten himself.

The bloodied women - and the owner - were only saved when a motorist who happened to pass by and saw Thursday evening's attack drove into the field, scattering the dogs. She then hauled the victims into her truck.

 

Police found the four dogs in the early hours of Friday and shot them dead.

Shena George, Isabella's mother, told WTHR: 'It is like a scene out of a horror movie. When I saw (Isabella and Rebekah) they were covered in blood and just mauled. It was terrible.

'Rebekah has 75 per cent of her scalp removed. She will not be able to grow her hair back. I didn't know if Rebekah would make it.'

Isabella's father Derrick George said: 'I’m just thankful she is alive. She has bite marks all over her body.'

 

Local sheriff Toby Leazenby said the dogs may have been so aggressive because they had not been fed by Darter.

Leazenby said: 'This was described to me last night in essence as a feeding frenzy, and the women were just doing everything they could to protect themselves from the dogs. Based on the injuries that I’m aware of at this point, I’m concerned that these animals were literally feeding,' he told WLFI.

He added that the joggers only escaped because the dogs scattered when the woman's truck drove into the field, allowing her to help the bleeding women into her car.

The sheriff told the Lafayette Journal and Courier that the chances of the motorist driving along the remote country road at that exact moment were extremely small, calling it a 'godsend'.

When the woman saw what was happening and drove into the field,
the pit bulls scattered giving her a chance to save the girls.

'I think that bought her a window of opportunity to actually get the girls and get them hurriedly into her vehicle. Fortunately this individual had the mindset that she was going to save these girls and get them out of that situation.'

He called for prosecutors to bring charges against Darter, who has previously been cited for not controlling his dogs - most recently in June.

The cousins' church, the Life Gate Church, posted on Facebook: 'The Forgey family has reported that Rebekah is in stable condition in the ICU. Please pray against infection in her wounds. The dogs did not attack her beautiful face. They love you and thank you for caring so much.'

(Daily Mail - Oct 3, 2015)