Police Investigate Bow-Hunting Incident on Bloomfield Hills Property

Bow-hunting season lasts for about another two weeks in Michigan, but not in the city limits of Bloomfield Hills, police said Thursday after finding a dead deer on a residential property.

Police are still investigating the incident, which was reported Monday afternoon, but have determined that an antlered deer was killed with a hunting arrow near a home in the 1000 block of Trowbridge Road, reports said.

Employees from the called to the area after they responded about 2 p.m. to reports of a dead deer that needed to be picked up, Chief Rick Matott said. The officers reported a large-antlered deer was shot with a hunting arrow and that there was a visible blood trail. They followed the trail to a bait pile near a hunting stand in the rear yard of a neighboring home.

The homeowner told police he was not the shooter but that he gave permission to another man to hunt on the property, reports said. Further details were not made available. 

The city has an ordinance prohibiting hunting, and the incident may involve violations of state laws as well, said Matott, who said it was the first time the department has had an incident like this in 29 years.

Mary Dettloff, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, said it was more common in other areas around the state. The department is not currently investigating the incident and only gets involved in similar cases at the request of local law enforcement.

"These incidents do happen, and it's up to the local authorities to enforce local ordinances," Dettloff said. "But it's incumbent that the hunters know the ordinances on the books."

Bow-hunting season in Michigan is split into two parts: from Oct. 1-Nov. 14 and Dec. 1-Jan. 1. Hunting with firearms is allowed from Nov. 15-Nov. 30.

More information is available at the Department of Natural Resources website.