Bull on the loose after mauling woman

PALESTINE, Ill. (WTHI) - The search continued Monday for a runaway bull after it brutally attacked a Wabash Valley woman.

It's a bizarre story that has the entire town of Palestine, Ill. searching for a Texas longhorn on the loose.

Monday, it was back to business as usual at Stork's slaughter house. However, workers said it was a scary scene Sunday when a longhorn got loose and attacked its owner.

"It her down and pretty much mauled her, the prints are still down here from that beef," worker Chip Selby said. "It hit her in the chest twice and tried to stomp on her."

The bull then ran off into the woods, launching a large-scale ground and aerial search. Although, other than a broken gate and some prints there aren't many clues as to where the bull may be.

"We did shoot it, it left a blood trail, we tracked it through the cornfield but once it exited we lost every single track," Crawford County Sheriff Todd Liston said.

Officials are asking everyone to be on the look-out, in the woods, in neighborhoods, even downtown.

"If it turned on one person it could turn on somebody else, I definitely want to get it corralled if it's still alive," Liston said.

While the town is buzzing about the elusive bull, the attack is something workers at Stork's won't soon forget.

"You see someone attacked like that it's just like you see on TV, it's like the running of the bulls, that's what it did to this lady," Rick Stork said.

The victim is a 40-year-old woman, officials said she's still hospitalized in Robinson, Ill. She is expected to make a full recovery.

Officials said if you do see a black bull with long horns don't approach it. You're asked to call the Crawford County Sheriff's Department at 618-546-1515.