BONNE TERRE, Mo. — Nine months after Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) agents began investigating the illegal killing of a bull elk, agents have submitted charges against three men from Bonne Terre.
The elk was killed and left to rot in Shannon County, agents said last November. The men face a total of 15 charges in the poaching incident and a separate incident where the men killed deer they failed to Telecheck.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Know who poached this Missouri elk? There's a $20,000 reward available
A 14-year-old deer hunter was the first to report finding the dead elk near Klepzig Mill during the 2023 opening weekend of firearms deer season. Shannon County Conservation Agents Brad Hadley and Logan Brawley led the investigation and the carcass was transported to MDC’s Central Regional Office and Conservation Research Center in Columbia for a necropsy.
MDC said agents from the Ozark, Central, St. Louis, and Southeast regions interviewed numerous hunters and deployed two K-9s that covered 28 miles around the area. They also used surveillance videos from local businesses and elk-population monitoring cameras.
“Public support of conservation is critical to conservation success,” said MDC Protection Chief Randy Doman. “Our conservation agents work hard to build public trust by thoroughly investigating incidents reported by the public. We could not have solved this case without the many members of the public who helped us. Thank you!”
Missouri's anti-poaching program, Operation Game Thief, originally offered $20,000 to anyone with information leading to the conviction of the poacher or poachers responsible for shooting the elk. MDC did not share whether any information from the operation helped lead to the charges.
