The CPW is looking for information regarding an elk poaching case that took place outside of Leadville. After investigating the area the CPW believes that this poaching took place sometime between June 16 and June 19. The poaching happened near Beaver Lake Estates that sits just outside of Leadville.
As a result, CPW is asking anyone with any information to come forward. You can call the CPW, or report it anonymously to Operation Game Thief, or OGT. You can reach OGT by either calling 877-265-6648 or emailing them at game.thief@state.co.us.
Operation Game Thief is the system that the CPW uses to help catch and prosecute poachers. If the information that is turned in is used to get a conviction the tipster or witness mat receive a cash reward from OGT.
OGT has been used to great effect in the past. Just this year, CPW has had two high-profile poaching cases. In each of these cases, they have been able to catch the perpetrators, in part, due to OGT. In the first case, CPW was able to apprehend Iniki Vike Kapu. Kapu went on a poaching spree from May of 2019 to the middle of 2020. You can read more about this case by clicking here. Likewise, CPW used OGT to capture Douglas R. Crookston. Crookston had moved away from Colorado but had illegally kept his residence status so that he could keep getting resident hunting permits. You can also read about this article by clicking here.
On top of the two cases listed above, the CPW used OGT to catch poachers in the late fall of 2020 as well. 5 people left 3 elk to rot in Unit 61 in early November. A concerned person called OGT after finding one of the elk. You can find more information on this case by clicking here.
What are your thoughts on this case? Have you ever helped catch a poacher? Let us know in the comments!
