NORTH YARMOUTH, Maine — Authorities in Maine are offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person who shot a domestic dog on a hiking trail.
At approximately 11 a.m. Friday, three people were walking their dogs on a marked trail in the Knights Pond Preserve in North Yarmouth when one of their dogs was shot, approximately 20 feet ahead of them, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Details about the dog’s condition or the dog’s breed were not released on Friday. The Maine Operation Game Thief is offering the $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible in the shooting.
“This atrocious, negligent shooting is both heinous and inexcusable, and is aggravated by the cowardly act of the shooter fleeing the scene,” Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Judy Camuso said in a statement.
“The incomprehensible and appalling act of one individual tarnishes the reputation of all of Maine’s 230,000 hunters. We all are outraged by this atrocity,” Camuso said.
Authorities described the shooter as a man in his 30s, with dark hair and “scruffy” facial hair. He was wearing a blaze orange vest, a blaze orange hat, and camouflage pants.
The owners of the dog had a brief encounter with him, but the suspect quickly fled the scene. A man matching this description was seen leaving the area in a dark-colored, full-size pickup truck, authorities said.
The Maine Warden Service is seeking any information regarding the shooter and the truck. Anyone who lives in the area of Henry Road and Edna Lane are asked to look at their security cameras and Ring cameras for possible footage of the truck fleeing the area a little after 11 a.m. Friday.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Maine Warden Service at 207-624-7076, or contact Operation Game Thief at 1-800-ALERT-US.
The Maine Warden Service is also urging the shooter to call 207-624-7076 and turn himself in.
North Yarmouth is a small town north of Portland, in the Lewiston-Auburn metropolitan area. The population was 4,072 at the 2020 Census.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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