MISSOULA. - A Camas Prairie man accused of abandoning 17 horses without food or water has been arrested in Missoula.

Authorities say 80-year-old Andrew L. Scott had apparently been working in Hawaii for the past several months. He was arrested Monday and will be returned to Sanders County to face one felony count of aggravated animal cruelty and eight misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.

A Sanders County Sheriff's deputy discovered the horses on a tract of property in rural western Montana town of Camas Prairie in July.

Two horses were dead, and a third died within an hour of the deputy's arrival. A fourth was in such bad shape it had to be put down.

Court records say the animals had been without water for about 10 to 15 days, during which time temperatures had been in the 80s and 90s. All suffered from equine distemper, or strangles, as well as malnutrition and dehydration.

The sheriff's department has spent about $20,000 sheltering, feeding and finding adoptive homes for the 13 surviving horses.