Four Star
Ranch Incident
By Game Warden Jamie Cole

The Game Warden had worked until well after midnight and was just getting into bed when the telephone rang. The caller did not give his name but the Warden recognized the voice as he was told that shots had just been fired on the Four Star Ranch road. The Four Star Ranch was about fifteen miles away from the Warden's residence and the chances of the poachers still being in the area were slim, but he decided to check it out.

As the Warden Approached the metal archway that marked the entrance to the Four Star Ranch the road made a bend to the left and there was an open field on the east side. The Warden could see the glow of headlights and the beam of a spot light shining across the field. He was
running blackout and decided to wait on the vehicle out of sight in the bend of the county road. Soon the vehicle approached and rounded the curve. The Warden could see two men standing in the bed of the pickup, one holding the spotlight shining a across the field. The driver had his
Window down and was watching the sight as it worked back and forth long the edge of the field. The Warden pulled into the path of the Pickup and turned on his headlights, spotlight and red lights. The vehicle Came to a stop and the two men in He back ducked out of sight. The
'Warden exited his truck and moved the edge of the open door. He ordered the men to get out and move to the front of the truck. The driver didd not comply but started backingaway from the Warden. The WardenJumped back into his truck and kept pace with the poacher's truck.

Suddenly the two men in the back stood up and shined the spotlight directly into the cab of the Warden's truck. The second man shouldered a gun and took aim at him. The Warden just had time to lie down in the seat when a shot rang out and the windshield and the back window of his vehicle blew out. He felt a sharp burning pain in his left hand that was still on the steering wheel. The poachers quickly backed away and left. The Warden radioed the local police department and advised that what had happened and gave a description of the vehicle. Soon officers from several agencies were working the area looking for the poachers. The next morning the driver was picked up at his residence, and later that day one of the men that was in the back of the-truck was picked up. The second man from the back of the truck could not be located and a manhunt that included several Game Wardens from all across the state was conducted in the area. He was arrested several weeks later after returning to the area.
The Warden was taken to the hospital and had surgery on his left hand to remove two rounds of 00 Buckshot and repair damage. Pieces of Buckshot lead were also located in his left shoulder and right cheek. This sounds like a story written by a fiction writer, but it is true because it happened to me.