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Click HereMinnesota Conservation Officer Tales – April 2008 Compiled By Richard Sprouse, Minnesota DNR
All of 90 at least
CO Jeremy Woinarowicz (Thief River Falls) came across a snowmobiler who
was doing some “testing” after installing new parts on his motor.
When stopped for excessive speed on a trail in the road right of way he
was asked, “How fast do you think you were going?” He replied,
“All of 90 at least.” Woinarowicz showed him the radar gun with a
reading of 96mph and then issued him a citation. The rider accepted his
citation and appeared satisfied with the performance of his new motor
parts.
They seemed too happy to see me
During a routine license inspection a pair of anglers appeared to be
almost too happy to see CO Randy Hanzal (Brookston). After a short
investigation a small amount of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia
was seized ruining those happy feelings for the two anglers.
Tip leads to father and son
CO Phil George (Mantorville) received an anonymous call about two deer
hanging in a shed on a property. The officer located the property and
the owner and found two deer hung in a shed. Neither deer was tagged or
registered and both deer appeared to have been there for some time. One
deer was found to have been shot with a small caliber rifle by the
homeowner’s son while coyote hunting. The father and son face big game
violations that include fines, restitution, loss of hunting privileges,
and loss of a firearm.
Despicable act
CO Greg Oldakowski (Wadena) assisted a neighboring officer in
attempting to track down a snowmobiler that ran over a fox several times
in the middle of a lake.
A dead what?
CO Jackie Glaser (Mound) responded to a call of a dead “wildebeest”
in a local Scientific and Natural Area. Upon further inspection, it
turned out to be a dead deer.
Pretend fishing
CO Aaron Kahre (Minnetonka) was working Lake Minnetonka in the
Excelsior area when he approached a portable fish house with a hand
auger lying beside the door. When the two men inside opened the door,
they were sitting on buckets with a Vexilar and a jiggle stick lying in
front of them. The only problem was there were no holes drilled in the
ice to fish through! When CO Kahre asked them why they did not have any
holes, they replied that they got tired with the hand auger after about
five inches of drilling and decided to just pretend for a while before
heading home.
A long way from home
CO Mark Fredin (Aurora) ran a driver’s license check on what appeared
to be an abandoned fish house on a northern Minnesota lake. The check
showed that the fish house belonged to a 92-year-old man. Upon further
investigation it appears the house may have been stolen over 20 years
ago from the southern part of the state.
Muskrat ramble
CO Scott Staples (Carlton) received a complaint of a muskrat trying to
get into a convenience store in Moose Lake. Apparently the young rodent
was hanging out in the car wash for a few days and then moved to the
front of the store where it would try to go inside when customers would
open the door. CO Staples and a Moose Lake Police Officer caught the
animal and transported it to a remote swamp where it would be safe.
Bite your tongue
An angler became disgusted with his dog while conversing and commending
CO Bob Mlynar (Aitkin) for the work he does. As the owner was producing
his license, the dog did what dogs sometimes do on a brand new canvas
house. The angler’s buddies laughed as the officer bit his tongue.
A need for remedial math and remedial ethics
CO Mike Martin (St. Cloud) witnessed a father and daughter angling on
an area lake and asked to see their fishing licenses. The father said he
had a license but didn’t have it with him. The daughter said she was
15 and didn’t need a license. When CO Martin asked the girl for her
birthday she told him 1990. She then tried to change her story but the
date she gave still made her 16; a summons was issued.
That got my goat
An individual called CO Corey Wiebusch (Mankato) to report that his
dogs had taken down a small deer that had passed through his yard. Upon
further investigation it was discovered that a neighborhood goat was the
unfortunate subject who sauntered through the yard.
Fire, beer and boom
CO Jeremy Woinarowicz (Thief River Falls) noticed a large cloud of dark
black smoke rising from a distant farmyard. Fearing a structure fire
Woinarowicz went to investigate, finding a Winnebago type RV fully
engulfed in fire in the yard of the farmstead. Getting closer, and
fearing the worst, Woinarowicz then realized there were three
individuals standing around the blaze with beers in hand. They later
admitted to lighting it on fire on purpose to salvage the scrap metal
from the shell and frame. While Woinarowicz was obtaining their
information for the court summons the gas tank on the RV exploded
sending a fireball 50ft into the air. The local fire department then
responded and put out the blaze.
A change in attitude
CO Bob Gorecki (Baudette) found a fish house on Red Lake that had been
left on the ice after the removal deadline had melted into the ice
approximately two feet. The owner of the house, a kind resort owner, and
CO Gorecki chipped the ice away from the house and eventually got it off
the ice. The owner of the house was very grateful and said how he had
never met a kinder and more helpful Game Warden. However, the man’s
attitude changed when CO Gorecki arrested him for several outstanding
warrants for his arrest.
That’s how we do it in Texas
CO Stacey Sharp (Bemidji) along with CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake)
responded to a TIP Call of a person shooting at a deer with an arrow
from the box of a truck. The suspect and his mother (who was driving the
truck) were located. They stated that was how they hunted in Texas. The
pair said they shot at a rabbit, not a deer. Enforcement action was
taken.
Another episode of “Dirty Jobs”
CO Chris Vinton (Perham) and CO Joe Stattelman (Detroit Lakes) assisted
the Becker County Sheriff’s Department with lake security during the
taping of an episode of the television show “Dirty Jobs.” The
episode involved the removal of a vehicle that had fallen through the
ice. Ironically, the next day a vehicle with four anglers in it went
through the ice on Little Pine Lake. All four people got out of the
vehicle safely before the pickup sank in approximately 50 feet of water.
It would seem there’s no obvious explanation for the incident since
the ice in this particular area was 4-inches thick. However, the
Ottertail River flows through the lake so the water current is the
suspected culprit for the vehicle’s plunge through the ice.
Woman run over by her own car
CO Todd Langevin (Center City) responded to an accident were a woman
had been run over by her own car. The woman pulled into a parking lot
and placed her car in park. As she exited her car, it started rolling
backwards and knocked the woman down. The woman’s leg was pinned under
the front wheel of the car. As bystanders held the car from rolling
back further, fire rescuers lifted the vehicle off the woman’s leg.
The woman was moved from under the car and transported to the local
hospital.
Report of “wolverine” in a tree
CO Jason Peterson (Hastings) responded to a call of a “wolverine”
in a tree. Upon arrival he saw a Fisher sitting near the top of a small
tree in an urban neighborhood. The Fisher left the tree the same night
and has not been seen since.
Up in smoke
CO Ed Picht (Montevideo) saw a vehicle parked in a strange location at
a public access. As CO Picht approached the vehicle the driver opened
the door and a plume of marijuana smoke rolled out the door. When asked
what was going on the driver said, “I think you know.” The driver
and passenger were cited for possession of marijuana.
Trapper snares himself
CO Chris Howe (St. Peter) reports a person attempting to snare coyotes
turned himself in when he snared a deer and the deer died. Trapping
education resources will be provided.
*Minnesota Conservation Officer Tales is produced monthly by the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources - Division of Enforcement
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