The Conservation Officer Service hopes the person responsible for illegally shooting a three-point mature breeding buck found buried along Mayfield Lake Forest Service Road south of Williams Lake will come forward.
"It could have been an accident, but the best thing is to always come forward and explain your side of the story," conservation officer Darrell Ashworth told the Tribune Monday.
The sad thing about the buck being buried and left to rot is that no one benefits, Ashworth said, noting someone returned and stole the horns.
Giving the hunter the benefit of the doubt, Ashworth said the person responsible probably panicked.
"Fortunately for us we do have a lot of trail cams set up," he added.
Encouraging whoever is responsible to come forward as a sign of good faith, Ashworth said they will be treated fairly.
"We came through four-point hunting season in November fairly unscathed with only five illegally-shot deer reported," he added. "It is sad in this case because a mature breeding buck has been taken out of the deer population and the deer population is not that great in the Cariboo."
All violations or information can be forwarded to the RAPP Line at 1-877-952-7277.