A deer that hunters shot and killed in Perry County was stolen from them last weekend, park rangers and Pennsylvania Game Commission officials said.
According to a post on the Tuscarora State Forest Facebook page, at about 2 p.m. Dec. 6 a hunting party harvested, tagged, and field dressed an antlered deer.
The deer, described as a “lifetime” 9-point buck, was then placed behind a tree to be picked up after the group finished hunting.
The deer was set down along a pipeline off of Wolf Road in Toboyne Twp., Perry County, officials said
When the hunting party returned to the area at the end of the day to retrieve the deer, it was no longer there.
Officials said that evidence at the scene suggests someone entered the pipeline and dragged the deer to a parking spot along Wolf Road, where it was loaded into a vehicle.
The deer was described as a small bodied mountain deer with “very dark, almost black” antlers. Its brow tines were symmetrical and about 6 inches high. It was tagged as a 9 point but was a 10 prior to damage to the antlers.
Anyone hunting in that area who might have seen the theft is asked to contact authorities. Similarly, anyone with trail cameras is asked to check their footage and send any images of anyone at the scene at that time.
Officials believe it is highly likely that the pereson who took the deer has sent or posted images.
Anyone with information can contact Tuscarora State Forest rangers at 717-543-1550 or call Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Operation Game Thief at 888-742-8001.