HOA Karen Reported Me for Hunting on My Own Land — The Wildlife Officers Asked Her to Leave
Chapter 7
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Officer Carter asked why the email did not mention my deed, the county map, or the fact that I had shown her the documents three days earlier. Patricia said those details were not relevant to public safety.Officer Brooks looked at the email, then at the video, and finally at the map. "They are relevant because they provide context," he said. "A report must describe the situation accurately, not just the part that supports one side."Patricia folded her arms and said that everyone in the subdivision knew I was causing problems. Officer Carter asked for the names of those residents. Patricia listed two neighbors, but neither had witnessed the morning's events: one had only complained about the sound of farm equipment, and the other had never visited my property.Officer Brooks then contacted the county dispatch office and confirmed that the original complaint had been classified as a possible wildlife violation, not an emergency. He asked the dispatcher to send the complete message history, including any photographs and attachments.When the files arrived, Officer Carter opened the final attachment. It was a photograph Patricia had never shown us. The image revealed the exact position where she had been standing, and in the corner of the frame, another person was visible beside the fence.Officer Brooks zoomed in. "Who is that?" he asked.Patricia stared at the screen. "That is Mark Ellis," she finally said. "He came with me to check the boundary."Patricia's answer left everyone silent for a moment. Officer Brooks looked again at the photograph, then asked her to explain why Mark Ellis had been present while she was collecting evidence on my land.Patricia said Mark had only stood near the gate and had never crossed the boundary.Officer Carter zoomed in on the image. Mark was clearly several feet beyond the private property sign, holding a measuring tape and looking toward the stone marker. "That is not near the gate," she said. "That is inside the property."Patricia quickly replied that Mark had been trying to help settle a boundary dispute. Officer Brooks asked whether Mark had permission from me to enter. Patricia said they had assumed permission was unnecessary because they were investigating a possible violation.I told the officers that nobody had contacted me before entering. I had not seen Mark that morning, but the photograph showed him walking with Patricia toward the creek.Officer Carter returned to the timestamps and compared the image with my camera recordings. One clip showed Patricia crossing the gate at 6:45. Another showed a second person following her less than a minute later. The person was wearing a dark jacket and carrying a folder. The camera angle did not show his face clearly, but the height and clothing matched Mark's appearance in Patricia's photograph.Officer Brooks asked Patricia whether Mark had helped create the red line on the HOA map. She said the map had already been prepared. Then he asked whether Mark knew the document was not an official county survey. Patricia looked toward the road and said Mark had told her it was only a planning document.That answer was different from what she had said earlier, when she had presented the paper as proof that the HOA controlled my property.