ENTERPRISE, Ore. — A new manager has arrived at the remote northeastern Oregon ranch where dozens of cattle were stranded in deep snow, and the outgoing manager says he has submitted his resignation.

Wallowa County Sheriff Joel Fish said in an email Jan. 14 that his department’s  investigation into the incident is continuing.

“I am interviewing all those involved and/or collecting statements,” Fish said. “This will take time as I have many other duties and am short staffed.”

Former Dean Oregon Ranches manager B.J. Warnock said in an email earlier this month that “when we began gathering (cattle) in September, there were 1,613 mother cows on summer range.”

He acknowledged several cattle casualties during the recovery efforts after the heavy snow hit, even though he and his crew were assisted by neighboring ranchers.

“Despite the efforts of our crew and the community, 10 cows have been found unrecoverable,” he said, adding that “1,548 Dean Oregon Ranches mother cows were successfully gathered by Dean Oregon Ranches crew before the snow. After the snow, 34 mother cows have been gathered through the joint efforts of our crew and the community. Of those, 26 were Dean Oregon Ranches cattle; the others were owned by neighboring ranches.”

Fish said Jan. 14 he still doesn’t know the number of rescued or lost cattle involved. He said the new ranch manager is Katie Romero, but he hadn’t yet met her.

In a Jan. 17 email, Warnock said, “We put in our two-week notice on Jan. 12. The gathering crew will be done the end of the month, as well. We wish the Deans and any future employees the best of luck going forward.”

He said he would have no further statements.

Fish said in his investigation he has spoken with Karen Dean, wife of ranch owner Bob Dean, who is ill.

“The cattle are still under Dean Oregon Ranches,” Fish said.

Dean attorney Christopher Gramiccioni, of South Carolina, said Joseph Law Firm in La Grande is representing Dean locally. There was no response to email and telephone requests for comment from the firm.