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Deer ‘dangling’ from car door leads to strange police chase, West Virginia cops say

It is not currently deer hunting season in West Virginia. Investigators assume the deer being dragged by the driver was already dead when he picked it up and took it with him. This is not that deer.
It is not currently deer hunting season in West Virginia. Investigators assume the deer being dragged by the driver was already dead when he picked it up and took it with him. This is not that deer. Courtney Celley/USFWS

A motorist led a very peculiar two-county police chase in West Virginia — when he tried outrunning deputies with a deer hanging from his driver’s side door, according to investigators.

It happened Thursday, Feb. 20, in Jackson County, and not one, but three agencies partnered to stop the 63-year-old driver. Jackson County is along the Ohio state line.

It is suspected the deer was already dead when the driver saw it and decided to take it with him, officials said.
It is suspected the deer was already dead when the driver saw it and decided to take it with him, officials said. Jackson County Sheriff's Office photo

“Following a snow-covered road pursuit that began in Mason County, (a driver) has been arrested following a call for service involving him dragging a deer carcass up the road dangling from the driver’s side door,” the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Feb. 20 Facebook post.

“(He) had secured the carcass utilizing the driver’s seat belt prior to engaging in the vehicle pursuit with law enforcement ... Some things you just can’t make up in this line of work.”

The car was ultimately stopped when deputies placed spiked strips in the road and punctured the tires, officials said.

The driver was charged with fleeing from an officer in a vehicle, Mason County jail records show.

Exactly why he was dragging a deer has not been explained.

It is not deer season in West Virginia, but the driver may not have been the one who killed the deer, officials suspect.

The Ravenswood Police Department in Jackson County was among the agencies involved in the pursuit, and department officials suspect the deer was roadkill the driver saw and decided to take.

“For what reason, I have no idea,” a Ravenswood official told McClatchy News.

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Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
Mark Price is a state reporter for The Charlotte Observer and McClatchy News outlets in North Carolina. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology. 
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