CLEARLAKE, Calif. – State wildlife officials are seeking the public's help in tracking down poachers who killed a deer in the city of Clearlake this week.

California Fish and Game Warden Patrick Foy said a pregnant doe was killed in an incident that occurred Tuesday night.

Foy said the Clearlake Police Department received a 911 call just before 10 a.m., with the reporting party stating that she heard a gunshot from Arrowhead Street in Clearlake.

Clearlake Police responded and determined that a female deer was killed. Foy said Fish and Game was called and responded to the area.

The witnesses described the suspect vehicle as a late 1980s or early 1990s GMC Jimmy – which was gray or a dull bluish color, possibly a primer color – or a black van, which was parked on Arrowhead Street in the middle of the road between Alpine and Modoc, according to Foy.

One witness saw the passenger holding a handgun out the passenger-side window and then saw the muzzle flash, Foy said. Another witness stated the vehicle stopped in the roadway and was occupied by two white male adults. The passenger fired a large caliber handgun at a deer.

The vehicle then turned and drove north on Modoc Street, Foy said.

Fish and Game determined from the evidence that a large caliber handgun was used to kill the pregnant doe, which Foy said was shot from the roadway in a residential neighborhood.

Homes at the scene were merely 40 feet from the location of the doe. Foy said the poacher put the public at great risk by firing a handgun in a residential neighborhood.

Fish and Game is requesting the help of the public in locating two male adults, driving a GMC Jimmy or black van, who probably live in the Clearlake area, he said.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Cal-Tip at 1-888-334-2258. Foy said Cal-Tip is an anonymous hotline that the public can turn in poachers to and possibly receive rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Fish and Game violators.

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