BRISTOL, RI — Police have determined that a deer head found on a residential doorstep was likely left by a coyote, not by hunters retaliating against residents opposed to bow hunting.
The Bristol Police Department and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management received a report on Oct. 30 from residents of a home on Elmwood Drive that a deer head had been left on their doorstep.
The homeowners reported they believed the incident was an intentional act by people upset with their opposition to bow hunting in the area.
Investigators conducted an extensive investigation and determined there was no evidence of hunters in the area on the night of the incident.
A canvas of all available neighborhoods and locations used to access the hunting area near the home yielded no evidence of hunters or suspicious persons or vehicles surrounding the date of the incident.
A search of Department of Environmental Management records and police records for the surrounding region found no evidentiary link to any reported roadkill or documented deer harvests that could have resulted in the remains.
The remains were consistent with a 1-year-old doe and were determined to be fresh, indicating a recent kill.
Based on review of the remains, the marks and damage observed were consistent with ripping or tearing damage and were without mechanical striations, tool marks or clean severed edges commonly associated with human involvement.
The damage was consistent with that created by an animal attack.
Physical searches of all nearby hunting areas by police and the Department of Environmental Management yielded no evidence of foul play or hunter involvement.
Video footage obtained by investigators of the hunting area near the property showed no evidence of human hunters on the date of the incident but did show evidence of coyote activity the night of the incident in close proximity to the property.
All possible persons of interest involved in the investigation were interviewed by police and the Department of Environmental Management, and no relevant suspects remain following investigative scrutiny.
Based on the totality of information collected, investigators determined the incident was likely the result of an animal attack by a coyote on a 1-year-old female doe which left a portion of the animal on the property in the early morning hours of Oct. 30.
