Game wardens with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism were busy over the Labor Day weekend. Kansas game wardens enforce wildlife laws and regulations, patrol the waters of Kansas, investigate boating accidents, and conduct boat safety inspections, BUI checks, safety programs, education classes and other activities.
September 1 started the dove season in Kansas, and wardens investigated two injury hunting accidents where subjects were accidentally struck by pellets from other hunters. The most common hunting violations over the weekend were for shotguns that were improperly plugged while hunting migratory birds and hunting without a hunting license.
Wardens investigated an injury boat accident at Hillsdale Reservoir that resulted when a person trying to climb onto an inner tube got tangled in the tow rope at the same time the boat accelerated. The victim was transported by ambulance for treatment. In another incident at Cheney State Park, game wardens and state park rangers responded to a call of a male victim complaining of back and neck pain from diving off a boat head-first into shallow water. The victim was transported by Eagle Med to a Wichita hospital.
Boating is a popular holiday activity that requires boaters to act responsibly for the safety of themselves and others sharing the waters. Five boaters were arrested for boating under the influence, one each at Perry, Wilson, Milford, Big Hill and El Dorado reservoirs. In the Perry Reservoir incident, wardens responded to a subject-in-distress call in “Party Cove” where they found an intoxicated female who had been kicked and pushed from a boat into the water. The victim could not swim and was transported to shore to recover from swallowing water during the incident. The operator of the boat she was pushed from was arrested for BUI.
As certified law enforcement officers, wardens also assist other law enforcement agencies. They arrested a driver in Sumner County with a blood alcohol level of .309 which is four times the legal limit to operate a motor vehicle, helped search for a suicidal subject near Glen Elder reservoir who was found safe and deployed an airboat at Perry Reservoir to help local law enforcement officials search for a man suspected in a stabbing incident. The suspect was eventually apprehended by authorities.
The reporting period began at 7:00 p.m. Friday, August 30 and concluded at 11:59 p.m. Monday, September 1.
GAME WARDEN ACTIVITY Aug. 30 – Sept. 1
Total boat accidents investigated – 2
Total boat accident fatalities – 0
Total boat accident injuries – 2
Drowning fatalities – 0
Search and rescue incidents – 4
Stranded boat assistance incidents – 21
Boating under the influence arrests – 5
Boating violation citations – 62
Boating violation warnings – 48
Fishing violation citations – 15
Fishing violation warnings – 4
Drug crime related arrests – 1
Other crime arrests – 5
Hunt from vehicle citations – 1
Hunting without a license citations – 9
Hunting without a license warnings – 5
Over daily limit of doves citations – 4
Injury hunting accidents investigated – 2
