UNION COUNTY, N.C. — The Union County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission have arrested a suspect following an illegal deer hunting investigation in Union County. The investigation began after a homeowner witnessed a deer run into his field and die from a gunshot wound in an area where hunting was restricted to archery season, the sheriff said in a news release.
Wildlife Enforcement Officers Rodney Prince and Anthony Bynum spearheaded the investigation after two individuals were spotted entering the field shortly after the deer died. Union County Sheriff’s Deputy Helms and K-9 Eli responded to the scene to track the suspects from the location where they were last seen.
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K-9 Eli immediately picked up the track, pulling consistently through thick hardwoods and into an open area that contained game cameras and a pile of corn. The tracking dog continued along the trail until pulling directly to an elevated box stand.
Right beneath the stand, investigators located a spent rifle casing lying on the ground. Wildlife enforcement officers credited the shell casing as crucial evidence that advanced the case, allowing them to identify the person responsible for shooting the deer and seize the firearm involved in the incident.
Authorities highlighted the operation as possibly the first successful track of its kind in the Union County area, the sheriff said. K-9 Eli successfully backtracked from where the suspected poachers were last seen all the way to the site of the illegal shooting, resulting in the recovery of critical evidence and an arrest.
The sheriff’s office did not release any names.