It is the policy of the Cook County News-Herald to withhold the identities of individuals in Cook County Law Enforcement briefs. When court proceedings are complete, the Cook County News- Herald publishes a complete accounting of names and penalties in its Matters of Record.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) focused primarily on deer hunters and ATV activity in the area. He followed up on past investigations and responded to complaints. With lakes starting to freeze up, Wahlstrom reminds anglers to keep safety in mind and to check the ice thickness before venturing out.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) took a report of a deer in a septic tank hole; the deer fell into the 8-foot-deep hole and was unable to get back out. The landowner opted to try to help the deer escape the next morning before resorting to dispatching it. He called the following day to report that the contractor was able to dig out the edge of the hole so the deer could walk out. Manning continued to check firearms hunters and took a report of bear hunters on ATVs damaging a private roadwa
CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports that hunters saw more deer on stand throughout the week. Warmer weather made it more enjoyable for hunters. Grouse hunters were also checked and reported great success. Hill contacted a few deer hunters, slowly driving on a dirt road around lunchtime. The pair of hunters told Hill that they didn’t have any luck during the morning hunt but were hoping that their luck would turn. While speaking with them, Hill noticed a large bag of corn in the bed of the pickup. As it turned out, the pair of hunters and their two partners back at camp decided to dump corn in front of their stands. All four hunters showed Hill their stand locations and were subsequently cited for hunting deer with the aid of bait.
CO Chad Thesing (Albany) primarily worked the second half of the firearms deer season. Trespassing complaints were investigated, and numerous car-killed deer permits were issued. Several deer-hunting violation investigations were worked with neighboring officers. One investigation found that a farmer had run into a large buck deer with his combine. The deer’s hind legs were stuck in the head of the combine. Rather than call a CO for help or a permit, the farmer and his son decided to go get a friend’s bow tag, kill the deer with a knife, then stick it with an arrow and register it as a bow kill. Another investigation found that a hunter shot a deer in his headlights at 6 a.m. before heading to his stand, then loaded the deer to go for a drive to get out of the area. While driving around he shot at a doe from his truck window, missed, then continued to drive until he saw a big eight-point buck, which he shot and killed from his truck window on the road. Many charges were filed and equipment was seized. Other violations for the week included transporting a loaded gun, failure to register deer, and driving an ATV illegally.
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