Ducks struck and killed near Fosston in northern Minnesota; CO seeks suspect, info

Fosston, Minn. — A northern Minnesota DNR conservation officer is asking for information that might help him determine who struck and killed nine mallards left strewn along a roadway south of Fosston.

CO Brady Manteufel, of Bagley, said a local resident called Aug. 4 to report the incident: Two adult mallards and seven that likely hatched earlier this year were dead and scattered along a stretch of County Road 6 near 430th St. SE, about two miles south of Fosston in Polk County, Manteufel said.

Given the location of the ducks, which, the CO said, appeared to have been hit and killed within 24 hours of his arrival, and that tire tracks were located along the far edge of the roadway, near a pond, he suspects the ducks were run over intentionally.

“They were spread out for about a 20-yard distance, and a few feet (apart from one another),” Manteufel said. He said the tracks appeared to be those of a truck or car, not an all-terrain vehicle.

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When the incident was reported, Manteufel said he asked the caller if any of the birds had been plucked or skinned. They had not, he said.

Manteufel said anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to call the DNR’s TIP hotline at 1-800-652-9093. The incident remains under investigation.