Lightning Toasts Wisconsin Whitetails

This week we bring you a new quick-roast venison recipe from
Wisconsin and a dumb outdoor criminal report from sunny
Florida.

Wisconsin Deer Slammed by Lightning Bolt

Authorities in southern Wisconsin report seven whitetail deer were
apparently killed when lightning struck a farm field during a
severe thunderstorm on March 20.

After receiving a report from a neighboring landowner the following
day, a Kenosha County Sheriff’s deputy reported finding six dead
deer lying in a circle with another one a distance away. The
incident occurred near Salem, Wis., about 5 miles north of the
Illinois state line.

Investigating Sheriff’s Sgt. Bill Beth said in the center of the
group of six there was a hole about 5 inches deep and 5 inches
across.

“It looked like the earth had been blown out of that hole,” he told
the Chicago Tribune. He said the deputy “definitely thinks it was a
lightning strike.”

Sgt. Beth said the deputy did not report seeing any visible
injuries on the deer, but neighbors said one deer had red marks on
its body.

The Offbeat Outdoors Blog cannot refrain from speculation in this
case-that perhaps the six deer found in the circle had recently
attended an organized protest at the Wisconsin State Capitol in
Madison and were covertly engaged in unauthorized ungulate
collective bargaining meetings at the time of the lightning strike.
We also think the seventh deer may have been a union organizer.

Dumb Outdoor Crime of the Week

Have you ever read about someone who drove away in a stolen police
car and wondered how anyone could possibly do anything more stupid?
Well, faithful Outdoor News readers, we bring you that
person.

Meet Michael Scott Noble, hometown unknown, who was apprehended by
U.S. Coast Guard authorities on the St. Johns River after he swiped
a marked watercraft belonging to the Florida Fish and Wildlife law
enforcement division from a marina dock.

Noble, 59, has been charged with grand theft, impersonating an
officer and unlawful use of police badges or other indications of
authority.

The wildlife agency’s dispatch in Orlando contacted the Coast Guard
and reported the theft of a 20-foot Boston Whaler from a marina at
Fleming Island, about 15 miles southwest of Jacksonville early one
recent morning.

Security cameras captured images of the boat near Hannah Park at
Mayport at about 8:05 a.m., about 30 minutes after the initial
report. One person was seen on board at the time.

“The Coast Guard launched a 25-foot maritime law-enforcement crew
from Station Mayport,” according to a USCG statement. “At 8:13 a.m.
the Coast Guard interdicted the vessel in question and detained the
suspect at 8:20 a.m.”

A word of caution to the cops: Don’t leave this guy alone in a
police cruiser with the keys in the ignition.