Oregon State Police cited three people Friday night for illegally taking a bull elk after shooting it in the Tami Wagner Wildlife Area in the Yachats River Valley.
Game troopers cited Michael F. Cox, 57, of Lebanon, for taking a bull elk, aiding in a wildlife offense and tampering with evidence. Cited for aiding in a wildlife offense were Kevin L. Hanel, Jr. 30, of Albany, and Heather L. Som, 48, of Scio.
According state police, two people overheard a single rifle shot originate off of Yachats River Road about 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20 and a spike bull elk was found dead in the Tami Wagner Wildlife Area.
A half hour later another person called state police to report a bull elk had been shot with a rifle and there were several people gutting and cleaning it.
A Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy responded first to find five people processing the elk. A state police patrol trooper and a wildlife trooper arrived to interview the five people and examine the carcass.
Police said Monday that the elk had been shot once with a rifle and then after it died shot again with an arrow.
Archery season was in progress, but hunting in the wildlife area with a rifle is prohibited. The regular elk rifle seasons are in November, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The elk head and antlers, a compound bow and the meat seized as evidence. The meat will be processed later and donated to charity.
The wildlife area is the only state-owned elk habitat on the central Oregon coast — 141 acres of winter and spring forage for the 350 elk living in the hills of the Yachats valley.
