Four Teens Arrested for Poaching Deer and Using Them as Eagle Bait in Washington

Teens were poaching deer, but that was only the beginning of the story.

Four teenagers are in hot water for a bizarre alleged deer and eagle poaching incident in Klickitat County, Washington. An officer with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife identified simply as Officer Bolton was called in to assist a sheriff's deputy.

The deputy had caught three juveniles with a loaded rifle in a vehicle near the Klickitat River. According to a press release on WDFW's Facebook page, the deputy discovered fresh blood and deer hair in the vehicle and that no one in the car had a driver's license.

An investigation of the area by the WDFW Officer and sheriff's deputy revealed something illegal was going on.

"Officer Bolton and the deputy searched the area for downed wildlife and soon discovered a relatively fresh doe deer on the hillside near where the suspects had parked," the press release reads. "Four older deer carcasses in various stages of decomposition were found in the same location. The officers learned that one of the young men shot the doe the night before by using a high powered spot light."

However, it turns out the poached deer were only the bait in this poaching case. The suspects were allegedly trying to use the carcasses to lure in eagles.

The officers then discovered another teen, a 17-year-old, trying to hide on the hillside above them with another rifle. The suspect later admitted to the officers he was searching for an eagle he had shot. The WDFW posted photos of the crime scene on the Facebook page.

Unfortunately, officials weren't able to find the shot eagle, and now they're filing unspecified criminal to the Klickitat County Prosecutors Office.

The officers seized the two rifles the teens had in their possession. We'll keep an eye on this bizarre story as it develops and bring you more here at Wide Open Spaces.

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