GAME WARDEN BLOTTER

BOAT DRIFTS AWAY FROM WADE-FISHERMEN

The Coast Guard was notified by TPWD personnel of a man seen on a game camera waving his arms and a white flag on the Big Jetties in Matagorda. A helicopter crew diverted to assist. Before the helicopter crew arrived, a good Samaritan boater took aboard the man and transported him to the Coast Guard Station in Port O’Connor. The man reported he had been wade-fishing with his friend, a 51-year-old man, about 4 miles north of the jetties in Matagorda Bay when their 26-foot boat broke loose and drifted away. The man reportedly injured his leg while unsuccessfully trying to retrieve the vessel and was stranded on Matagorda Peninsula with no food or water. The helicopter crew located the stranded fisherman, hoisted him and transferred him to emergency medical services personnel waiting at Port O’Connor. The man was reportedly in stable condition and is working with TowBoatUS to locate and recover his adrift vessel.

Bonfire Party Coversation

WARDENS’ ATTENTION

CATCHES

Illegal deer hunting in McLennan County was discovered by game wardens patrolling a popular lake for nighttime hunting violations.

Bald Eagle Rescued

SPONSORED BY: wardens collected a sample from the deer, photographed the dock, the bottoms of the subjects’ boots and the firearm used. The wardens traveled to the area where the caller observed the boat and subject in the brush. They located footprints in the sand and took pictures. Utilizing drone technology, it was evident that the set of footprints in the sand matched the bottom of the suspect’s boots along with drag marks resembling dragging a deer.

The wardens observed an illegal bonfire on a dead-end roadway where a large group of under-aged subjects were observed consuming alcoholic beverages. Before contact was made, one warden snuck up to the group and overheard two subjects talk about a previous illegal hunting incident. Upon making contact, the two subjects were pulled aside for further questioning. The wardens and sheriff’s deputies issued citations for minor consumption of alcohol and released other group members to responsible parties. Following up on the lead, the wardens obtained pictures and verbal admission that a white-tailed buck was killed with a .22 rifle at night and off the public road/right of way on Army Corps of Engineers property. In total, the wardens identified a total of three suspects involved in the incident. Wardens found the white-tailed buck dumped in a large culvert pipe with its antlers removed.

TWO DEER SHOT FROM BOAT Kenedy County game wardens received a call about two adult males hunting and shooting from a boat. The caller reported the suspects walked onto private land and into the brush. They offered a description of the two individuals and the boat. The next morning, wardens patrolled the area to locate the individuals. While conducting water safety inspections, the two wardens stopped a vessel matching the description with two male individuals wearing the same outfits described by the caller. While inspecting one of the subjects hunting/fishing licenses, two deer tags were missing, and the harvest log showed two deer were killed on the day in question. The wardens followed the individuals back to their cabin and inspected the two deer. The subjects claimed they killed the deer on the island behind their cabin. While questioning the subjects about harvesting the deer, the wardens observed that the subjects’ stories did not match. The

Caldwell County Game Warden Joann Garza-Mayberry responded to a report of an injured bald eagle. She arrived to find the mature bald eagle unable to fly. Mayberry captured the eagle for transport to Austin Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Elgin. Along the way, she visited Luling Junior High and High School for an impromptu wildlife program on eagles which is also the school’s mascot. Once x-rayed, veterinarians determined the eagle suffered a broken right wing. It was not clear what caused the injury. New raptor research shows treatment promoting re-calcification of the bone may produce a healthy, flyable wing. RUGER.COM/AMERICANRIFLE

OFFSHORE TROUBLE

Three men departed from Port Aransas for a boating trip far offshore. When they didn’t return the next night, their family members called the Coast Guard for help. An aircrew began searching for the boat, and the boaters hailed the crew over the radio and activated a distress alert. This location data helped the aircrew and a boat crew pinpoint the catamaran’s location. The boat crew arrived to find the boaters battling rough seas and bailing water out of their catamaran. The crew escorted them safely back to land.

REPORT ILLEGAL HUNTING AND FISHING ACTIVITY FOR A REWARD OF UP TO $1,000. CALL OPERATION GAME THIEF AT (800) 792-4263