MUSCATINE COUNTY, Iowa -- On November 17, 2019, DNR Conservation Officers received a TIP that a trumpeter swan had been shot at Cedar Bottoms Wildlife Management Area in Muscatine County.
When the conservation officers arrived, all of the suspects had already left the area. Evidence collected at the scene led the conservation officer to a possible suspect.
When officers interviewed the suspects, all three individuals confessed to illegally taking the trumpeter swan and mistaking it for a snow goose.
Austin McMillan, 27, of West Branch, Daniel Solorio-Oldenburg, 26, of Cedar Rapids and Mitchell Kesterson, 28, of Van Horne were each charged with one count of Attempt to Take Wildlife and one count of Abandonment of Wildlife.
The swan has been seized and will be preserved and displayed for educational and informational outreach purposes. The DNR reminds of the importance of properly identifying targets before taking a shot.