State police salvage elk meat for Eugene Mission

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Senior Troopers Martin Maher and Marshall Maher of the OSP Fish & Wildlife Division salvage one of the elk carcasses.

By KVAL.com staff

Story Published: Oct 22, 2009 at 12:21 PM PDT

COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. -- Four men face wildlife crime charges after police say four elk were unlawfully shot and killed on private property Tuesday morning.

State troopers salvaged the carcasses and took the elk meat to the Eugene Mission.

Landowners in the area reported hunters trespassing on private lands to retrieve the four bull elk poached from a resident herd of 70 elk. The four elk killed Tuesday were a 3 point, 5 point, 6 point, and a 6x7 point. Police said the elk were unlawfully killed on private property south of London Road, about 3 miles south of Cottage Grove.

Senior Troopers Martin Maher and Marshall Maher of the OSP Fish & Wildlife Division identified four suspects and cited them on suspicion of the following misdemeanor charges:

  • John K. Atwater, 50, from Cottage Grove, Ore., was cited on suspicion of four counts of Unlawful Taking of Bull Elk, and two counts of Borrowing an Elk Tag
     
  • David Pruitt, 78, from Creswell, Ore., was cited on suspicion of Loaning an Elk Tag and Aiding in a Game Offense
     
  • Homer Rhodes, 74, from Cottage Grove, Ore., was cited on suspicion of Hunting on the Enclosed Land of Another, Loaning an Elk Tag, and Aiding in a Game Offense
     
  • Christopher Stevens, 35, from Cottage Grove, Ore., was cited on suspicion of Aiding in a Game Offense

Additional charges may be pending, police said. All four men are to appear in Lane County Circuit Court on Nov. 19, 2009.

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