Rogue Hunters Confronted and Arrested in Okanogan County

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is cracking down on hunters who flout the law.

The department's police wing rejoiced on Friday in its completion of an afternoon decoy operation. The sting took place in the rural river town of Twisp.

A two-point mule deer buck was used to bait lawbreakers onto Forest Service territory. The illegal deer was soon encircled by a carload of hunters. As they exited the vehicle one by one, it became clear that none were appropriately dressed. (State law requires gun hunters to wear not less than 400 square inches of blaze orange - or pink.)

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An adult passenger was baying for blood, that is, deer blood: "Too eager to wait for confirmation that the deer was legal, [the passenger] blasted away at the decoy with an open-sighted rifle."

What happened next spoke poignantly to the collateral damage of illegal hunting activity.

"Upon contact, the suspect’s juvenile son was found in the back seat with another loaded rifle."

"The shooter was a convicted felon prohibited from possessing firearms in Washington State. The driver was taken into custody for an unrelated active arrest warrant."