(Editor’s note: A photo of the elk that was poached appears at the bottom of this story. It may be disturbing for some.)
An Elgin man has pleaded guilty to charges related to the poaching of a bull elk found dead and left to waste last fall.
Oregon State Police say that on Oct. 1, 2022, deer hunters reported finding a dead bull elk. It was located on private timber company lands north of Elgin in the Wenaha Wildlife Management Unit.
It was determined the elk was shot from Kingsbury Lane with a rifle and left to waste. It was also concluded that the shooting happened two days earlier — before the start of rifle deer season — and that no part of the elk had been removed and that no attempt was made to salvage the meat.
Troopers eventually identified Cody Murrill, 42, of Elgin, as a suspect, facing charges of Unlawful Take of a Branch Antlered Bull Elk and Waste of Wildlife.
Murrill pleaded guilty in Union County Circuit Court on Jan. 20 and pleaded guilty to the charges, OSP said.
“On September 30, 2022, I did knowingly take a male bull elk and on the same date I knowingly wasted edible portions of the elk,” read a handwritten guilty plea on the court documents.
OSP said Murrill was sentenced to 10 days in jail, 12 months probation, forfeiture of the rifle he used and $440 in fines.
Also last fall, an investigation was also launched into the poaching of an elk in Deschutes County.
RELATED: OSP looking for 2 people, truck after poaching of elk in Deschutes County
