A disturbing discovery in Orange County has sparked a state investigation.

Two women driving through Highland Mills say they found a dead bear on the side of Route 32 — shot in the head, with both of its front paws cut off.

Highland Mills residents Eileen Novick and Susan Garcia told News 12 they first noticed a blue dump-style truck with no markings pulled off to the side of the road around 9:30 a.m. Monday and the bear lying nearby.

They kept going, but when they came back about an hour later, the truck was gone — and the bear was still there. That’s when they called the DEC.

What they saw has haunted them ever since. Garcia said the bear “had a gunshot wound and both his front paws were cut off, like someone intentionally cut his paws off.”

The women say there was some blood at the scene but not enough to explain how the animal ended up on the roadside. They believe the bear may have been dumped there.

“The whole thing is just crazy and very sad. I still think of him, it’s horrible,” Novick and Garcia said in a Zoom interview with News 12.

They say the discovery continues to devastate them.

“We are extremely devastated, we just can’t believe somebody would be as cruel as to do this to an innocent animal,” Garcia added.

The DEC confirms its law enforcement division responded and found the mutilated bear. Officials say the investigation is ongoing.

Bear hunting season in the Southern Zone of New York — which includes Orange County — doesn’t start until mid-November

Anyone with information is asked to contact the New York State DEC at 844-332-3267. That number is also posted under this story on our website.