I Think This Is New, But Let Me Know?

[Shack]

3/28/2008 10:48:00 AM Email this article • Print this article

Minnesota Conservation Officer Tales - April 2008

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.

Article Comment Submission Form

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please feel free to submit your comments.

Article comments are not posted immediately to the Web site. Each submission must be approved by the Web site editor, who may edit content for appropriateness. There may be a delay of 24-48 hours for any submission while the web site editor reviews and approves it.

Note: All information on this form is required. Your telephone number is for our use only, and will not be attached to your comment. We reserve the right to publish Arti

[Eskimoman]

I love reding these. I would like to know if/when that episode of dirty jobs is airing.

[Shack]

I do not know, but I figure it was worth posting .

[jwhjr]

Funny stuff. That would be interesting to see that episode of Dirty Jobs.

[ocf1]

Man these things are good. "Pretend fishing" You know your a fishaholic when.....

[zamboni]

These guys have a dangerous at times job- but it's one I think we'd all like to have.

[Sandmannd]

I agree Zamboni, pain in the but at times, but would be nice to have your office outside. On the flip side, you probably will have to work on fishing and hunting openers. But then, you probably have some good input where the fish and animals are as well.

[fishinJohn]

I don't think think I would want to be a warden, I like separation of work and hobby. Any occupation that requires you to be responsible for drunk people would not be fun. Nice post, they sure see some people doing dumb things.

[UdeLakeTom]

What is amazing is when they catch the stupid ones, it is usually for multiple reasons and it isn't the first time or they have a warrant for some other reason.

[mrklean]

haha makes me feel better that the dumb ones were caught

[jiggin pig]

I will find the one in Goodhue Co. where the Sheriff's K9 assisted and found the poachers bow. When the poacher was first questioned he stated he was walking on the township road.