Hunter illegally kills black bear on a whim, takes selfie with it, Missouri cops say
A deer hunter was trespassing on a Missouri property when he illegally killed a black bear, Missouri officials said. He then returned to take a photo of himself with the bear and sent it to a few people, police said.
That picture landed the man in trouble with the law.
The photo of the Reeds man ended up in the hands of prosecutors, according to a probable cause statement. Now, the man is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, possessing wildlife illegally, taking and possessing wildlife illegally and unlawfully hunting wildlife, according to a criminal complaint filed on March 25.
The man told investigators that he was trespassing on the Jasper County property in the late hours of Dec. 1, when he spotted the bear through the scope of a deer rifle, the probable cause statement said.
He shot the bear in the head and left it, prosecutors said. He returned shortly after midnight on Dec. 2 and took a selfie with the dead animal, according to court documents, before abandoning the bear’s corpse again.
The hunter told police in January that he did not notify the Missouri Department of Conservation about the dead bear because he was not supposed to be in the presence of a firearm due to a previous felony conviction, the probable cause statement said.
Officials recovered the dead black bear on the property as the hunter described with “a bullet hole in its head,” court documents said.
The suspect is scheduled to appear in court April 28. He was not arrested.
Reeds is about a 270-mile drive southwest from St. Louis.
This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 11:42 AM with the headline "Hunter illegally kills black bear on a whim, takes selfie with it, Missouri cops say."
