Man shoots and kills grizzly bear, then hides evidence in hollowed-out tree, feds say

An 80-year-old man in Montana was accused of illegally killing a grizzly bear and then getting rid of the evidence, federal officials said.

Othel Lee Pearson, of Troy, is accused of fatally shooting the grizzly on his property in November 2020, cutting off its GPS collar and throwing it in the Yaak River, according to a Jan. 23 news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana.

Pearson is also accused of cutting off the bear’s paws, ear tags and “identifying lip tattoo,” officials said. The evidence was stashed in a hollowed-out tree on National Forest System land near Pearson’s home, prosecutors said.

Officials said Pearson got rid of the evidence to avoid criminal prosecution. He is also accused of not reporting the incident within five days of when it took place.

McClatchy News reached out to Pearson’s lawyer on Jan. 24 for a statement and was awaiting a response.

Pearson has been charged with tampering with evidence and failure to report taking of grizzly bear, according to the release.

On the evidence tampering charge, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. On the failure to report change, he faces a $25,000 fine and six months in prison, federal officials said.

Troy is about 180 miles northwest of Missoula and is close to both the Idaho-Montana border and the U.S.-Canada border.

This story was originally published January 24, 2024 at 10:35 AM with the headline "Man shoots and kills grizzly bear, then hides evidence in hollowed-out tree, feds say."