A buck deer was illegally killed with archery equipment on private property near Prineville sometime between October 26 and October 28, and Oregon State Police are now asking the public for help tracking down whoever did it. Troopers say no legal deer season was open at the time, since rifle season had already wrapped up on October 14.
Troopers responded on October 29 after a report came in that a buck had been killed and harvested on private property, according to KTVZ. Exactly where remains a little muddled in local reporting: KTVZ places the scene along O'Neil Highway near Century Drive and Elliot Lane in Crook County, while The Bulletin describes it as O'Neil Highway near Century Driver and Ellliot Lane. Either way, troopers believe the animal was taken down with an arrow, well outside any legal hunting window.
The KATU reported that the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division is now asking anyone with information to come forward. Officials have confirmed the killing was illegal, and the case is being tracked under reference number SP26-354801 for anyone reporting a tip.
How to Report What You Know
Anyone with information on a possible suspect can call 1-800-452-7888 or email [email protected], per KATU's reporting. That tip email account is monitored Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the same address can be used to report other wildlife or habitat law violations. The same hotline number is listed by the Turn In Poachers program, as noted by Central Oregon Daily, and all tips in this case may be submitted anonymously.
There's also money on the table. Tipsters could be eligible for a $1,000 reward for information in this case, and the Oregon Hunters Association specifically offers cash rewards of $1,000 for reports involving deer, elk or antelope. The Turn-In-Poachers program also offers preference point rewards for information leading to an arrest or citation involving the unlawful killing, possession or waste of big game mammals.
A Program Built on Six-Way Cooperation
The Turn-In-Poachers program itself is a joint effort stitched together from six different organizations: Oregon State Police, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Oregon Hunters Association, the Oregon Wildlife Coalition, the Oregon Outfitter and Guides Association, and the Oregon State Marine Board. That kind of cross-agency reward structure exists because poaching cases are notoriously hard to crack without a tip from someone who saw or heard something.
And poaching isn't a small problem in Oregon's backcountry. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates that nearly 25% of all game animals killed in the state are taken illegally, according to the same Central Oregon Daily report. That statistic helps explain why troopers lean so heavily on public tips and cash incentives to crack these cases, since illegal kills often leave behind little more than a carcass and a lot of unanswered questions.
This isn't the only recent case troopers have investigated in the Prineville area. In a separate incident, Oregon State Police sought public help identifying who was responsible for the apparent unlawful killing of two young bull elk, whose remains were found discarded off the side of Mill Creek Road east of Prineville. Both of those bulls were missing their antlers when they were discovered, according to Central Oregon Daily's reporting on that case.
