Game Warden Blotter

PLANNING TO RELEASE DEAD FISH

On Houston County Lake, a subject was checked by a game warden while loading his boat. The subject was in possession of bass in viola tion of the slot limit. The subject said he was going to take a photo of the fish and then release it back into the lake. The warden asked to see the fish, and when the subject removed the fish from the livewell, it was dead and beginning to turn stiff. Case pending.

WOMAN TURNS IN HER POACHING BOYFRIEND

A female called in a complaint that her boyfriend and a friend had killed a deer and had it hanging in the garage. A Montgomery County game warden arrived and found the deer had gone to waste. The boyfriend admitted shooting the deer from a public road, and at night. The boyfriend was arrested. The friend was arrested for a felony warrant and for hunting at night.

THEFT ON LARGE RANCH

Possible illegal hunting was re ported on a large ranch in Maverick County. Two fences had been cut on the ranch with UTV tracks leading through the openings. The fences that had been cut were on opposite sides of an Farm-to-Market road

WARDEN FINDS SUSPECTS IN MANHUNT

A Smith County game warden received a call for assistance from the sheriff’s office with a man hunt in the southern end of the county. A dozen or more overnight vehicle burglaries had occurred in a nearby neighborhood. During the burglaries, multiple firearms and a vehicle were stolen. The vehicle owner located his vehicle and chased the suspects to the “Whitehouse area” when they bailed out. The warden located two suspects on a trail and took them into custody within minutes. After a search, the remaining three suspects were not found but their identity is known.

with a single set of tracks going through. Sheriff’s deputies followed the tracks in the ranch on the west side of the road as game wardens followed the tracks on east side. Af ter several miles of tracking through thick brush and losing the trail more than once, the wardens dis covered a UTV stashed in the brush with the key still in the ignition. The ranch manager was notified of what was found. It was determined the UTV had been stolen from the ranch. At the main house of the ranch, it was determined the house, as well as one of the outbuildings had been broken into. The wardens assisted in loading the UTV on a trailer to be transported back to where it belonged.

CAPSIZED BOAT, MAN THROWN

On Braunig Lake in San Antonio, a 75-year-old operator was attempting to pull in the boat anchor when fast water currents and strong winds caused the vessel to capsize. Bexar County game wardens responded. When the vessel capsized, the oper ator was thrown into the water. The operator was wearing an inflatable PFD and it deployed when he was in the water. The wardens secured the vessel to the shoreline to keep it from going into the intake.

ILLEGAL FISHING AND MORE

A couple at a bridge in Belton Lake were fishing along the bank when checked by Bell County game wardens. Neither individual had a fishing license, and the female had an outstanding warrant for child neglect. She was arrested.

DEER, DOVE AND SQUIRRELS

In response to a call of possible illegal hunting, a Colorado County game warden found three subjects in possession of a white-tailed deer that had been freshly killed and butchered. The men also killed mourning dove in closed season and failed to keep the dove, along with some squirrels that were also killed, in an edible condition.

SHOTS FIRED DURING LAKESHORE ARGUMENT

Bell and Travis County game wardens responded to a call about an argument and shots fired at the Centex Sportsman’s Club residen tial development on Belton Lake. A caller on a boat was witnessing the scene as it was occurring on shore. While heading to the scene, the wardens were behind a police department vehicle. The PD vehicle stopped in a residential area when he spotted the suspect on the side of the road. The suspect was agitated and threw down his smart phone and shattered it on the road, but did not have a firearm in his possession. The man admitted he was having an argument with his spouse by the water and had fired his handgun nine times, emptying the magazine into the water and said he had thought about killing himself during the incident. On the boat, wardens found a substance that looked like marijuana and the Corps of Engineer ranger recovered the spent casings from the water. The husband was detained for his safety due to his suicidal ideations. He also was issued a citation by the Corp of Engineers for possession of a firearm on federal property.

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

AN AMERICAN LEGEND

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