(a) All sales under this subchapter shall be at public auction for cash.
(b)
(1) The proceeds of the sale, after payment of the charges for the feeding, herding, pasturing, keeping, or ranching of the livestock, from the date when the lien became effective under § 18-48-203 until the date of the sale, and all the expenses of the sale, including costs of publication, attorney's fees, and costs of public auctioneer, if any, shall, if the owners are absent or unknown, be deposited with the treasurer of the county where the sale takes place by the person making the sale.
(2) These net proceeds shall be paid to the persons entitled to them when they properly establish ownership in, or lien upon, the livestock, either by claim of title or by claim of valid lien.