Four moose have been shot and killed in Aroostook County, and the Maine Warden Service is looking for help solving the crimes.
Three of the moose were shot over a two-day period, Nov. 3 and 4, in Wildlife Management District 3.
According to Sgt. Dan Menard of the Maine Warden Service, wardens do not think the incidents are related.
Cpl. John MacDonald’s account of the first three incidents:
- “[On Monday, Nov. 3] the first small bull moose was killed on the Sullivan Road in Township 16, Range 5, approximately one mile east of Route 161,” MacDonald wrote. “A male and a female are believed to be involved and they were operating a red regular-cab GMC or Chevy pickup with an eight-foot bed.”
- “Reported on Nov. 4, this second moose is believed to have been killed on Monday, Nov. 3 in the late afternoon,” MacDonald reported. “The moose was shot on the Stockholm Road off the Sullivan Road in T17 R3.
- “The third moose was shot in Hamlin off the Madore Road. This moose is believed to have been shot Tuesday, Nov. 4. The moose was shot near a rock pile in a large field,” MacDonald wrote.
In his original press release, MacDonald said that three moose had been illegally shot. On Monday, Menard said via email that a fourth moose had been found, also in WMD 3.
The fourth moose was found late Friday night, after the press release had been issued. The fourth moose was found in T15, R5, near Pennington Pond.
“We are working on all four [cases] diligently and we are hopeful someone heard or saw something suspicious in those areas during the [week of moose hunting],” Menard wrote. “All moose were shot and left during the third week of the moose hunt.”
If you have information about any of the incidents, you can call Operation Game Thief at 1-800-ALERT-US, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s Ashland office at 435-3231, or Houlton Public Safety dispatch at 1-800-924-2261.