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PARK CITY — More than 100 fish are dead in a Park City pond, and investigators are trying to figure out why.
At one time, 125 rainbow trout lived pond, located on Hidden Court in the Thayne Canyon subdivision. Loretta Paulus and Shan Ingleby raised them for nearly five years.
"We came out this morning, and every single one of them are dead," Paulus said. "They were OK about 6:00 (Tuesday), because our neighbor came out and fed them."
The fish were thrashing in the water and according to Ingleby, they were trying to jump out of the pond.
Somebody did something to poison this pond and kill everything in it.
–Loretta Paulus, Park City resident
The homeowners raised the oxygen level in the water, thinking the fish were suffocating. But when they came outside Wednesday morning, the water was murky.
"Somebody did something to poison this pond and kill everything in it," Paulus said.
Park City Fire Capt. Scott Rapshus said the initial investigation was inconclusive and the case is now with the Park City Police Department and the Department of Natural Resources.
"We're not sure if they passed due to oxygen deprivation when the water came in and stirred up the silt … or a fence bordering the golf course had also been freshly linseed oiled," Rapshus said.
The cause of the fish kill remains unknown, but at least one resident of Thaynes Canyon subdivision said people need to watch what is being put into the water.
"People, don't put your stuff in the water," Shan Ingleby said. "What you put in goes downstream. It's not only our pond is dead. There are a handful of other ponds below us that everything is dead."
