CLEARLAKE OAKS – The Department of Fish and Game is seeking information on a possible elk poaching case.

Game Warden Loren Freeman said he received a report earlier this month of a bull elk that had been killed, possibly in the Clearlake Oaks area.

Freeman said a couple and their daughter were at a Clearlake Oaks gas station on a Sunday afternoon when the daughter spotted a large elk in the back of a Ford F-250 pickup, covered with a blue tarp.

The girl didn't mention the elk to her parents until some time later. Freeman said he got the report about five days after the alleged sighting.

So far, Freeman said he has been unable to substantiate the case.

According to Fish and Game hunting regulations for 2008-09, hunting in Lake County for tule elk in the Cache Creek area may only take place in October, with a limit of one elk per person. Only five tags total are allowed for that area. Elk in the Lake Pillsbury area are protected and may not be hunted.

The Cache Creek herd has been a target of poachers in recent years. In August 2007, three bull elk were found killed along Cache Creek in southern Lake County, as Lake County News has reported.

Freeman said he wants to pursue the investigation on this recent alleged poaching case if he can get more information from the public.

He asks that anyone who saw a Ford F-250 pickup with a blue tarp covering a large object, driven by a white male between the ages of 30 and 35 in the Clearlake Oaks area, call the toll-free CalTIP number, 888-DFG-CALTIP (888-334-2258).

The number is used to report poaching and polluting cases, and is good 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Officials ask that those using the tip line give the fullest possible account of the incident including the name, address, age and description of the suspect, vehicle description, direction of travel, license number, type of violation and when and where it occurred.

Tips may be made anonymously, however, rewards of up to $1,000 have been paid to callers who supply information that leads to an arrest.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

{mos_sb_discuss:2}