Jared Meister of Rising City has been sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution in the theft of a rare blonde bison from a Custer County hunting lodge.
The Omaha World-Herald reported that Meister was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution. The bull belonged to Mitch and Roxanne Huggins, who own Comstock Premier Lodge near Sargent. Coverage has also described the animal as a rare white bison.
The Initial Felony Warrant
The case began with a different charge. Sandhills Express reported that an arrest warrant charged Meister with theft by unlawful taking of more than $5,000, a Class IIA felony.
Meister first pleaded not guilty. Sandhills Express reported that the court granted a continuance and set a jury trial for February 9, 2026. He was later sentenced to probation, the World-Herald reported.
Meister was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution.
The court ordered $5,000 in restitution.
What the Lodge Said the Bull Was Worth
The World-Herald reported that the bull passed its blonde coloring to about half its calves and sired an average of 13 calves a year. The lodge estimated six productive breeding years remained. The Hugginses valued blonde calves at $5,000 each and other calves at $1,500.
Reported Estimates of the Bull's Value Sandhills Express reported that the bull was valued at about $30,000 as a hunt and about $8,000 if sold.
Sandhills Express reported the owners had been unable to locate the blonde bull since spring 2023.
A Mount, a Horn, and a Purchase Story
A guest at the lodge reported seeing a blonde bison bull mount at a taxidermy business in Schuyler. KRVN Rural Radio reported that Meister brought a bison head and cape to be mounted in February 2023.
Investigators compared photographs of the missing bull and the mount, and an anomaly on the mount's right horn appeared to match the missing bull. A Texas A&M University professor, cited there from an affidavit, said the horn feature and unusual coloring strongly indicated the bull and the mount were the same animal. Sandhills Express reported that the professor who examined the photographs determined they were likely the same animal. That was a photographic assessment, not a definitive identification.
KRVN Rural Radio reported that Meister said he bought the bull from a couple in South Dakota. It also reported that the property had been leased from Meister's father.
The Separate Civil Filing
The Hugginses filed a civil lawsuit on August 5, 2025, alleging $125,000 in losses from the bull's death, the World-Herald reported. The suit sought $125,000 for lost calf production and $20,000 for the lost hunt, along with punitive damages, interest, court costs and attorney fees.
The criminal order includes two years of probation and $5,000 in restitution.
