Walk in Cap Report
Roger Westfall, Conservation Officer
One night in late August 2007, a cow elk was poached in a hayfield above Kamiah Idaho.
I investigated the scene the next morning and found that half the elk had been left to waste. My metal detector found one whole .270 bullet and fragments of a second bullet in the neck. A spent .243 case was laying in the road about 80 yards away, not much to go on.
I sent a picture of what was left of the elk to local paper, along with a request for anyone with information to call the Citizens Against Poaching hotline. The article got people talking about the case, but no calls came in.
The next weekend Officer Jim Pagel and I set up the CAP trailer at the Kamiah BBQ Days. We had a steady stream of visitors all day, and many people relayed information of poaching they had seen over the years.
Late in the afternoon I noticed a young man staring at one of the displays. I asked if he had any questions, he said no. I started to walk to the other side of the trailer and his friend said "aren't you going to tell him." Then he quietly said "that elk you had in the paper, I know who shot it"
It was not an easy decision for him to turn this person in, but he knew there had to be some justice for this elk. He then told me he heard Bo Wilson bragging about shooting this elk. He did not know where Wilson lived, but he knew he sometimes stayed at a house by the bus barn.
The next day Pagel and I knocked on doors, starting with the house by bus barn. Our investigation took us to four houses, three different towns, and four suspects. We ended the day at 10 p.m. back at the house by the bus barn seizing a .270 and getting written statements.
The Wilson brothers Bo, age 15, and Levi, age 18, had each shot the elk, one in the chest the other in the neck.
Trishka Blair had used her car to take the group to the field and hauled the illegal parts back to town.
Shane Mcnaulty helped to pack the parts out and kept one leg at his house. They said they left part of the elk on the hill, because, the two hind legs was all that would fit in the trunk of the Ford Thunderbird.
All pleaded guilty in Idaho county court, and Judge Jeff Payne levied fines totaling $3,500. In addition, the shooters each served two days in jail with another 16 days waiting, if they have any more violations in the next two years. The group also received a total of 10 years revocation of hunting privileges.
The young man who got this case started never gave me his name and did not want any reward. He just wanted to do what was right.
By calling the Citizens Against Poaching hotline 1-800-632-5999 with detailed information of a wildlife crime, concerned citizens can help Fish and Game solve and discourage wildlife crimes. Rewards are available and callers can remain anonymous.