10 dogs found dead in trash bags in a North Carolina ditch

 (CNN) —

The dogs — mostly pit bulls — were found during a volunteer clean-up event called “Operation Spring Cleaning, authorities in Robeson County said.

“Sadly and under current investigation was the discovery of 10 dogs (mostly but not all pit-bulls) wrapped in trash bags and thrown alongside a ditch bank,” Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins wrote in a Facebook post on March 20.

After the dogs were discovered, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office Animal Cruelty Investigator and a local veterinarian were called to the location, Wilkins told CNN.

The vet told investigators that the dogs did not appear to be involved in dogfighting, Wilkins said. There were no obvious causes of death or signs of injury.

Robeson County officials are seeking the public’s assistance in locating the owner of the dogs.

“We’re hoping somebody comes forward,” Wilkins said.