Utah connection suspected in Nevada poaching, reward offered

Stock Image | St. George News

LINCOLN COUNTY, Nev. — A bull elk poached and left to rot in Lincoln County in August has the Nevada Division of Wildlife’s Operation Game Thief offering a reward for the poachers – and a Utah connection is strongly suspected.

Two hunters caught on a trail camera after illegally poaching a bull elk, Lincoln County, Nevada, August 29, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Nevada Department of Wildlife, St. George News
Two hunters caught on a trail camera after illegally poaching a bull elk, Lincoln County, Nev., Aug. 29, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Nevada Department of Wildlife, St. George News

In the early morning hours of Aug. 29, two hunters illegally shot an elk on private property near the Pearson Ranch in Lincoln County.

The poaching occurred using a spotlight, and the two men were captured on the landowner’s trail camera in a blurry photo riding an ATV.

“We know there’s a witness out there who can tell us who did this,” Chief Game Warden Tyler Turnipseed of Nevada Wildlife said in a press statement.

“We have some strong evidence and leads, but we need a little more help to piece it all together so we can catch these guys.”

The carcass of a bull elk illegally killed in Nevada, Lincoln County, Nevada, undated | Photo courtesy of Nevada Department of Wildlife, St. George News
The carcass of a bull elk illegally killed in Nevada, Lincoln County, Nev., undated | Photo courtesy of Nevada Department of Wildlife, St. George News

The poachers will be facing at least one felony and several misdemeanors, including shooting the animal at night and leaving the meat to waste. Operation Game Thief is offering a $2,000 reward to assist in the arrest of the shooters.

“There’s reason to believe that this poaching case might have a Utah connection,” Mark Hadley of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said in a news release.

Any information regarding this crime should be reported to the Operation Game Theft Nevada hotline at 800-992-3030. Callers can remain anonymous when reporting.

Resources

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews | @NewsWayman

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

1 Comment

  • Real Life November 4, 2015 at 1:12 pm

    These two “hunters” look awfully close riding together, I bet they know each other all too well. Poachers are somewhere between grave robbers and pedophiles.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.