Since You Asked: Reward up to $2,000 in Butte Falls deer-poaching case - News - MailTribune.com - Medford, OR

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Since You Asked: Reward up to $2,000 in Butte Falls deer-poaching case Saturday Nov 18, 2017 at 12:01 AM I'm writing concerning the deer poaching from earlier this week outside of Butte Falls. Have they caught the idiots who did this? If not, can't the reward money be increased to entice someone to rat these guys out? — M.M., email submission   While the case remains unsolved, the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever illegally killed three black-tailed buck deer last week near Butte Falls has been increased from $500 to $2,000, according to Oregon State Police. The original $500 was offered through the Oregon Hunters Association's Turn In Poachers, or TIP, program and it was sweetened Friday with $500 from OHA's Rogue Valley Chapter and $1,000 from Crime Stoppers of Southern Oregon. "Hopefully we'll get a little more interest now that the reward's been beefed up," OSP Sgt. Jim Collom says. A passerby Nov. 11 found the headless bodies of three blacktails off Huskill Creek Road outside of Butte Falls, police said. Only a small amount of the meat was taken, and investigators believe the animals were illegally shot and left to waste. The only legal hunting season last week in the area was archery hunting for deer. Anyone with information about the case is urged to call the TIP hotline at 1-800-452-7888. Callers can remain anonymous and still collect rewards. TIP is a long-standing program administered by the Medford-based OHA in conjunction with OSP, and in the past year, the program's standard rewards have been increased by the OHA state board, Collom says. The program now offers $1,000 for information leading to arrests and convictions of the poaching of bighorn sheep, mountain goat and moose in Oregon. Elk, deer and antelope cases carry $500 base rewards, while bear, cougar and wolf cases can garner $300 rewards. Also, $100 rewards are offered in cases involving game fish, shellfish, upland birds and waterfowl, and furbearers, according to the TIP schedule. — Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected]. We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.