EDITOR’S NOTE: Retired Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Conservation Officer Kennie Prince had a 26-year career with the agency. He has recently released “The Poacher’s Nightmare: Stories of an Un-dercover Game Warden,” a book that contains accounts of his career in the outdoors. The following is an excerpt from his book.
I once received a call from the dispatcher that a boat had hit a car. I a sked the dispatcher to repeat and give the location. Dispatch confirmed, on north side of the causeway that crossed Pelican Bay. Upon arriving on the scene, I was astonished, as I saw a ski boat in the middle of the road with the bow broken up and a small sports car with a big dent in the passenger door. A reservoir patrol officer was approaching from the south side, and there were quite a few witnesses.
After speaking with the officer, we started questioning the driver of the car and some of the bystanders, as the boat operator was not to be seen. Some of the witnesses said that a man and woman who had been in the boat got into a vehicle and left the scene. After we looked through the boat, it was evident by the many empty beer cans that the operator may have been intoxicated.
This was a first for me; the boat had climbed at least 50 feet of rip-rap (rocks), cleared the metal railing, and hit a moving car in broad daylight. As the name of the owner of the boat was coming back from dispatch after running the boat identification number, one of the bystanders said, “There he is.” They pointed to a man walking onto the scene followed by a lady carrying a small baby. I began
questioning the man, asking if anyone was hurt. The man was reluctant to speak.
I asked the lady if she was OK. Something wasn't right, and, with the man's head bowed down, the lady spoke up: “Tell him, tell him everything!” Then, looking at me, she said, “I want a copy of the report when you're finished!” giving her name and phone number. I asked, “Ma'am, were you injured?” She responded, “I was not in the boat!” Uh oh! Things were coming together, as the man apparently had been trying to get the “other woman” off the scene before his wife arrived. The man operating the boat was apparently intoxicated and refused to give up the name of his female passenger. Even after placing him in handcuffs and sending him to jail, he never gave up the name of his female acquaintance.
Kennie Prince’s book, “The Poacher’s Nightmare: Stories of an Undercover Game Warden,” is available at University Press of Mississippi www.upress.state.ms.us