An Oklahoma woman scored a lot more than she had bargained for after chatting up a potential suitor using dating app Bumble recently. Boasting about shooting a deer outside of the legal hunting season, she had no idea she was exchanging messages with a State game warden.
24-year-old Cannon Harrison, the warden in question, couldn’t believe it when his match began bragging about her kill.
“Honestly, the first thing I thought was that it was someone who was messing with me because they knew who I was,” said Harrison. “It seemed too good to be true.”
Knowing that Oklahoma deer shooting season had ended and her hunt was illegal, Harrison played along, asking if she had killed the animal with a bow (which would have been legal). The woman coyly avoided the question, but soon admitted that she had used the practice of “spotlighting” to shoot the animal. Spotlighting is illegal in Oklahoma. It’s the practice of shining a bright light into an animal’s face causing it to freeze, making it an easy target.
Harrison, ever-dedicated to his calling as a warden, kept up the ruse, pretending to be impressed and asking her to send photos of the deer. She obliged, providing evidence that would later be used against her — gruesome photos of her posing next to her prey, along with images of the butchered animal. The photos and story were later shared on the Oklahoma Game Warden’s Facebook page.
Using his amateur detective skills and the power of social media, Harrison tracked down the offender and game wardens paid her a visit the very next day.
She and an accomplice pleaded guilty to charges of improper possession of an illegally taken animal and taking game out of season, paying $2,400 in fines, although she wasn’t charged for spotlighting.
Although a tragic end for the deer, at least this woman did not get away with her crime — and we’re thankful this game warden put his passion for animals over his search for love.
