Karen Called Wildlife Officers to Arrest Me for Fishing — They Shook My Hand Instead
Chapter 6
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Daniel asked Brenda whether she had removed any official signs."No," she said quickly. "I only moved one because it was confusing.""Which one?""The county notice.""Why did you move it?"Brenda hesitated. "Because it made people think they could come onto the property."Emily looked toward the water. "The notice said the opposite. It explained where public access was allowed."Brenda had no answer.Daniel closed his notebook and told her the officers would need to contact the county before making a final determination. For the first time, Brenda seemed to understand that the decision was no longer hers to control.Then Emily turned back to my tackle box. "There is still one item we have not reviewed," she said.The audio from the moment Brenda placed the sign. I thought the video had already shown enough, but when Emily played that final section, the clearest explanation came from Brenda herself.Emily connected the memory card again and selected the audio from the moment Brenda placed the sign. The image showed the trail, the lake, and the wooden post, but the most important details came from the sound.Brenda had looked around before setting the sign against the post. She seemed certain that no one was listening."Once this stays here for a few weeks, people will assume the shoreline is private," she said. "Then I can ask the county to recognize the access route as part of my property."Brenda immediately shook her head. "That recording is being misunderstood."Daniel kept his eyes on the screen. "What part of it is inaccurate?""I was speaking hypothetically.""You were moving a sign over an official notice," Emily said. "Then you said you wanted the public to believe the shoreline was private."Brenda pressed her lips together and looked toward the lake.The recording continued. A few seconds later, her voice became quieter: "The house would be worth much more if no one could use this side of the water. The county does not have enough staff to check every weekend."Emily paused the audio. No one spoke for several seconds. I could hear water touching the rocks along the shore.Daniel finally asked Brenda whether she had contacted the county about changing the boundary."I submitted a request," she answered, "but no one responded.""A request does not change an existing boundary," Daniel said, "and it certainly does not give you permission to install your own signs."Brenda turned toward me. "You recorded me because you wanted to create a problem.""The camera records my fishing trips automatically," I said. "I did not know what you were going to say.""You could have warned me.""You were standing in a public access area placing a sign over a county notice."Emily looked at the recording time. "This was captured at 7:19 in the morning. The photograph showing the clear official notice was taken at 7:12. That confirms the timeline."Daniel wrote the times in his notebook and then called the county parks office using the number printed on the notice. After a brief explanation, he handed the phone to Emily. She described the sign, the location, and the document beneath it.