Police officers in the central Kentucky town of Fordsville believe a local woman was eaten by a pack of wolf-dogs that she had raised as pets.

According to authorities, more than 50 hybrid wolf-dogs were recovered on the property of 67-year-old Patricia Ritz, who was reported missing on Saturday. Neighbors said they had not seen Ritz for over a week.

"I think it was just one lady that really wanted to save them all," local animal control official Tracey Ward told WFIE News14. "When you don't spay and neuter, they're going to breed. It's not going to be just one or two puppies, it's going to be seven, nine, twelve."

Officials discovered a human skull and jawbone at the home, which they believed belong to Ritz. It is uncertain if the wolf-dogs killed Ritz, as her neighbors alleged that Ritz had not been feeling well before she went missing.

Wolves and dogs have been intentionally mated in the past, yielding breeds like the German Shepherd, but untamed wolf-dogs are a serious problem in some regions of the U.S. Nearly 300,000 wolf-dogs inhabit the U.S., according to the Department of Agriculture.

Living conditions for Ritz's wolf-dogs were poor. Many of the wolf-dogs were malnourished and a few were dead. Ritz had caged some of the dogs, but the majority were running free.

Ritz had been convicted multiple times for animal cruelty in the past, with her first offense coming in 1986, according to NBC News. Nearly 200 wolf-dogs were discovered on Ritz’s property in 1999, when 150 of the animals were ultimately euthanized by public health officials.

Ritz was allowed to keep 25 dogs, but was ordered to spay and neuter them. She did not, according to records, and another 34 dogs were euthanized in 2003 due to poor treatment.

"After the sadness, there was relief," Mary Beth Kolb, of the animal rescue group Adopt-a-Husky, told WFIE News14. "There absolutely was relief that this will never happen again."