HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Game Commission recently honored Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Todd A. Brian and Trooper Stephen E. Wilcox, from the PSP Lamar Barracks, for their response to an unusual situation on Nov. 15, in which two Clinton County residents were severely injured when they were attacked by a white-tailed deer.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the immediate response and decisive action of Cpl. Brian and Trooper Wilcox saved the lives of the two victims,” said Game Commission Northcentral Region Director Dennis Dusza. “With only two full-time Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officers serving Clinton County, it would have been virtually impossible for one of them to have responded in such a timely manner.”
On Nov. 15, around 7:30 a.m., two Fishing Creek Road residents were the victims of an unprovoked attack by a one-and-a-half-year-old, six-point buck. The incident on Fishing Creek Road began when a woman attempted to go into her backyard to feed her cats, and a buck that was standing at her backdoor would not let her out of the house. Alerted to the situation, a man exited the house to attempt to chase the deer away and, without warning, the buck repeatedly charged and gored him.
The woman contacted the State Police Lamar Barracks at 7:40 a.m., and two officers immediately responded to the scene. They found the deer attacking the woman, who had entered the backyard in an attempt to chase the deer away from attacking the man. The State Police officers were able to wrestle the deer away from the woman, and then both officers fired shots to put it down.
After the Game Commission was contacted at 7:42 a.m., Clinton County WCO Kenneth Packard arrived at the scene and took possession of the carcass for transport to Dr. Walter Cottrell, Game Commission Wildlife Veterinarian, who conducted a full necropsy and extracted samples for rabies testing. Shortly afterward, the test results confirmed that the deer did not have rabies.
“In mid-November, deer are in the midst of the rut, which is the fall mating season,” said Packard. “However, during the investigation, it was revealed that two nearby neighbors of the victims had been feeding and harboring this deer since it was a fawn.”
WCO Packard filed charges against Ronald S. Underkoffler, 39, and Tina Underkoffler, 29, of Woodward Street, Clintondale, Clinton County, for their harboring and feeding the deer. On Jan. 18, the Underkofflers were found guilty and fined $300 plus court costs.