Wash. Teens Used Deer As Bait In Illegal Eagle Hunt, Police Say

KLICKITAT, WA - Four eastern Washington teens are facing charges for killing deer to use as bait in an illegal eagle hunt. Police came across the gruesome scene after pulling over the teens and finding them driving unlicensed and carrying a loaded rifle.

A Klickitat County deputy pulled the teens over along the Klickitat River Wednesday. The deputy was prepared to let them go with a warning about the loaded rifle - but then he spotted blood and animal hair in the vehicle.

A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officer and the deputy searched the area for dead animals, and eventually came across five deer carcasses stashed on a hillside. The freshest carcass belonged to a doe.

Then police learned that a fourth teen, armed with a rifle, was hiding in the nearby hills. When police found the 17-year-old, he told them he was searching for an eagle he had shot. Eagles are federally protected and cannot be hunted.

The officers seized the two rifles and released the teens, but charges have been forwarded to the Klickitat County Sheriff's Office.

Images by Neal McNamara/Patch, WADFW