On October 31, 2023, Carbon County Search and Rescue responded to a report of a missing elk hunter south of Rawlins, Wyoming. The other members of the hunting party said their truck had broken down and that the other member had decided to walk to Rawlins rather than wait around, according to a news release. 

However, after the others were picked up, the remaining elk hunter couldn’t be found until the following morning. On Nov. 1, 2023, a “disoriented individual near Miller Hill” matched the description of the missing hunter. During this time, game wardens in Rawlins and Baggs were notified of the search and rescue as well as a truck stuck near Littlefield Creek not related to the search and rescue effort.

However, the relaying of this information between Carbon County Search and Rescue and Wyoming Department of Fish and Game game wardens sparked the investigation of an illegally killed bull elk in Elk Hunt Area 108 that eventually led to the arrest of Corey Cruz of Rawlings, Wyoming.   

Game wardens responded to the stuck truck, finding a gut pile from a bull elk only 100 yards away, according to a news release. The gut pile was the only evidence at the scene – the rest of the bull elk had already been removed before the wardens arrived. Cruz, who owned the truck, told the search and rescue team that the bull elk was killed in general Elk Hunt Area 21 – approximately two miles away – on Oct. 31.

Cruz didn’t have a limited quota license, which was required to hunt the area. Instead, he only had a general elk tag.

During the investigation, photos of Cruz posing with the bull elk were passed along to game wardens, who were able to match the location of the photos with the location of the stuck truck near Littlefield Creek. Further evidence was found that Cruz had illegally killed the bull elk in Elk Hunt Area 108, not Elk Hunt Area 21 like he said. 

Cruz pleaded guilty to “intentionally taking an antlered elk without a proper license” on May 15, 2024. He was ordered to pay $1,570 and was sentenced to 90 days in jail with 82 days suspended and credited for eight days served in the Carbon County Detention Center. He will also lose his hunting and fishing privileges for five years in all states that honor the Wildlife Violator Compact.