EAST PALESTINE, Ohio - Police in East Palestine are asking the public to help them solve a gruesome case of animal cruelty.

According to police, two days after a pet beagle disappeared from the back yard of an East North Avenue home, only the dog's head was found in the yard.

The dog's owner told police she left her dog “Trouble” on a cable run in the yard on Friday.

On Sunday, the woman's son called police to report that someone had cut off the dog's head and left the head in his mother's back yard.

Police Chief James Brown III is asking anyone with information to contact his department at 330-426-4341.

Chief Brown says in a statement that investigators want to hear from anyone who may have seen anything suspicious on Friday between 8 pm and 9:30 pm, or on Sunday between the hours of 1:30 am and 1 pm.

City Manager Mark McTrustry said, "There is a lot of fear. We have a large number of school children who walk home. Parents obviously have concerns that if someone is willing to do this to an animal, what else might they be willing to do? The police are taking this seriously. They have gone door to door to talk with neighbors. This is really disturbing especially in a small community where everybody knows everybody else."