Three Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Rangers Receive Governor’s Award for Life Saving Acts

FORSYTH, GA – On Monday, Governor Nathan Deal presented Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Rangers Captain Chris Hodge, Corporal Craig Smith, and Ranger First Class David Brady with the Governor’s Public Safety Awards for Acts of Heroism in two separate incidents last year. The awards were presented during the 2015 Governor’s Public Safety Awards ceremony at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth. 

The Governor’s Public Safety Awards Program recognizes those men and women who have gone “above and beyond the call of duty” to protect the lives and property of the citizens of Georgia and those who have made significant contributions to their profession.

On December 5, 2014, Capt. Hodge, who was a Sergeant at the time, responded to a request to assist the Camden County Sheriff’s Office in the pursuit of a murder suspect on I-95. During the pursuit, Camden Deputy Lamar Bowen attempted to stop the suspect using the PIT maneuver, causing the suspect to crash and Bowen’s patrol car to leave the roadway and roll violently down the shoulder of the interstate. As other officers rushed to apprehend the suspect, Sgt. Hodge immediately focused on Bowen, who was unconscious and still belted in the patrol car. As Hodge administered first aid, the vehicle caught fire. Sgt. Hodge, with assistance from other officers, pulled Deputy Bowen out of the burning car to safety. The quick and heroic actions of Sgt. Hodge helped to preserve the life of Deputy Bowen that night.

On March 9, 2015, Corporal Craig Smith and Ranger First Class (RFC) David Brady responded to a call regarding a missing person on the Satilla River in Brantley County. The caller was not aware of his exact location so the Rangers launched separate boats from different locations and were able to quickly locate him. Upon arrival, they learned that his brother had jumped in the river to swim. With the river near flood stage, he began to struggle, went under, and did not resurface. As Smith and Brady searched the wooded area and the river, they heard cries for help. As midnight approached, they found the man, submerged to his neck, entangled in tree branches, and nearly unconscious. The Rangers were able to break through the branches and pull the victim into their boat without capsizing in the swift currents. They transported the victim, who was suffering from extreme hypothermia with a core body temperature of only 92 degrees, to waiting EMS personnel. Without the persistence and bravery of Cpl. Smith and RFC Brady, the victim would have lost his life. 

“Training is the key. These Rangers acted on their training with confidence and courage and lives were saved as a result,” said DNR Col. Eddie Henderson, director of Law Enforcement. “I am very proud of these Rangers and their willingness to selflessly risk personal safety to ensure the safety of others who likely would not have survived,” 

Capt. Chris Hodge is a 14-year veteran with Georgia DNR Law Enforcement and was recently promoted to supervisor of DNR Law Enforcement’s Region IV - West Central Georgia. Cpl. Craig Smith is a 15-year veteran of the Division assigned to Camden County and Ranger First Class David Brady is assigned to Glynn County and has been with DNR 11 years.   

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Contact: Mark McKinnon

                Public Affairs Officer

                Law Enforcement Division

               Office: (706) 557-3106

               Mobile: (404) 387-7780

               mark.mckinnon@dnr.ga.gov 

Pennsylvania Conservation Officers Woodland Tracking Team Locates Rifle and Other Evidence Used in Fatal Shooting of Police Officer

Pennsylvania Conservation Officers on the Agency's Woodland Tracking Team located a rifle believed to be used in the fatal shooting of a police officer. 

Below is an excerpt from a CBS News Story, and press conference, and media coverage.

“The Remington .270-caliber rifle that was found roughly three-quarters of a mile east of the river,” said Trooper Steve Limani, of Pennsylvania State Police.

Putting to use wild land tracking skills, state Game Commission officers were able to figure out just where and how the suspect moved when he allegedly ran from the New Florence home. But finding the rifle still proved a challenge.

“There was a rough trail that the Game Commission was able to follow and lead us on, and this firearm was found off of that path in a thick area of brush and tucked under some leaves and brush,” said Trooper Limani.

The rifle wasn’t the only thing investigators say they found near the high-powered hunting rifle.

“A hooded sweatshirt that had some blood on it and there were several rounds of ammunition of that .270 caliber found in the pocket of that hooded sweatshirt,” said Trooper Limani. “They will be sent for analysis at our labs.”

See media accounts below, including news conference.

WXPI Press Conference

CBS Pittsburgh

Canadian caught with 51 turtles in his pants pleads guilty in Michigan

(Reuters) - A Canadian college student caught at a border checkpoint in August 2014 with 51 live turtles in his pants pleaded guilty to six smuggling charges on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Ann Arbor, Michigan.


Kai Xu, 27, of Windsor, Ontario, admitted to smuggling or trying to smuggle more than 1,600 turtles of different species out of the United States from April 2014 until his arrest in September 2014. Each of the six counts carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.


In August 2014, Xu crossed the U.S.-Canada border into Detroit and was watched by U.S. agents as he picked up a package at a parcel center and appeared to transfer items before heading back to the border, according to a criminal complaint.


When he passed back through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, Xu was stopped by Canadian Border Services, which found and seized 41 live turtles taped to his legs and 10 hidden between his legs, the complaint said.


The day of his arrest, Xu packed more than 1,000 turtles into suitcases that he sent with a runner he had hired to fly them to Shanghai from Detroit, prosecutors said.


U.S. District Judge John Corbett O'Meara scheduled sentencing for April 12 in Ann Arbor. Xu has been held in federal custody since his arrest.


(Reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Michigan Conservation Officers Conduct Operation Targeting Illegal importation of Deer

Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers in southwest Michigan recently conducted enforcement operations targeting illegal importation of harvested deer into Michigan from states with chronic wasting disease (CWD) in their free-ranging deer herds.

Conservation officers conducted operations near the I-94 corridor of the Michigan/Indiana border, resulting in the seizure of six harvested deer. Five deer were transported into Michigan from Illinois, and one was transported from Wisconsin. Michigan law prohibits importing deer from CWD-positive states and provinces.

Read the story here