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County Cops

Wildlife illegally killed

Craig Wescoatt of Colorado Parks and Wildlife reports that two large deer have been illegally killed recently in western Eagle County.

One buck was killed over the July 4 weekend and the other was shot last weekend. In both cases the animals were shot and left to rot. The person who killed the animals did not harvest any meat or antlers in either case.



Anyone with information regarding these illegally wildlife killings is urged to call Operation Game Theft, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife program that pays rewards to citizens who turn in poachers. Anyone with information can call toll-free within Colorado at 877-265-6648.

Callers do not have to reveal their names or testify in court. A reward of $500 is offered for information on cases involving big game or endangered species, while $250 is offered for information on turkey and $100 for fishing and small game cases. A Citizens Committee administers the reward fund, which is maintained by private contributions. The committee may approve rewards of up to $1,000 for flagrant cases. Rewards are paid for information that leads to an arrest or a citation being issued.

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Stolen horse

On July 21, a 45-year-old man called deputies because he suspected his 3-year-old colt was stolen from a ranch outside Eagle where it had been boarded the previous three weeks.

The man said he and his daughter went to check on the horse that morning. The colt had been boarded with two other horses. When they arrived, a section of wire panel fencing was knocked over and the two older horses were wandering outside the barn. They tracked the colt to the end of the property entrance but could not find it after extensive searching. The man added that the colt was unlikely to run off with the other horses around.

He described the missing horse as 15 hands tall, brown with a black tail and short-cropped mane, and white “socks” on its feet. The colt was worth $500.

Human smuggler gets off easy

A deputy stopped a van on Interstate 70 near Dotsero for following another car too closely July 22.

When the officer contacted the 37-year-old driver, he counted 11 other people in the van, which only had enough seats for seven people. Two men were lying on top of each other in the rear of the van. The driver’s only documentation was an expired insurance card and he couldn’t identify who owned the van.

The deputy suspected the driver was smuggling undocumented immigrants into the country. The passengers, who ranged in age from 18 to 55, admitted that they were in the country illegally. The said they were headed to Ohio, New York and Maryland.

The officer contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. An ICE agent confirmed the driver was previously deported and suspected of human smuggling but ICE could not respond unless the man was a previously deported felon.

The 37-year-old was cited for driving without a license, reckless driving and driving without insurance.


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