VIENNA — Maries County Conservation Agent Tex Rabenau is seeking leads after finding a deer in Vienna that had been shot and killed.

Rabenau said he first received a call about the deer from Vienna Police Chief Shannon Thompson on the afternoon of Aug. 16. Vienna Utilities employees had found the body of a deer in a ditch on Parkway in Vienna. The road crew had just mowed the area the day before, so they knew the deer had died within a day of finding it.

Rabenau began investigating the scene where the city employees found the deer. Scavengers had started to pick at the body, but it was mostly intact. The animal had been shot in the face with a small caliber weapon, likely .17 or .22. Blood trails suggested the deer had not traveled far after the shooting. The deer had likely been shot near the scene because its carcass was near a street light that would not provide much cover for someone trying to discreetly dump it.

After the initial investigation of the scene, Rabenau contacted the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) to bring in a K-9 unit to assist with the investigation. Morgan County Conservation Agent Matt Wheaton brought K-9 Chuck to search for scent trails and casings. Rabenau said from there the investigation hit roadblocks.

Rabenau interviewed seven people who live near the site of the carcass. Two of them reported that they had been outside on Aug. 15 and heard what sounded like a single gunshot sometime between 7:30 and 8 p.m.

Anyone who may have information about the shooting can contact Rabenau at 573-619-3344 or the Operation Game Thief hotline at 800-392-1111 to report a tip.