Garrett Diehm and his trophy buck. Image courtesy: WAOW TV
LODI, WI (WSAU-WAOW) — Opening weekend is often the first chance for hunters to harvest the big buck they have been watching for all year, but for one young marksmen right here in central Wisconsin it’s what happened after he got the kill that he’ll never forget.
Garrett Diehm was hunting with his family in Portage County when he says he pulled the trigger on one of the biggest bucks he had ever seen.
“I didn’t even realize – well I knew it was a buck when I saw it go down, because the antlers were moving,” said Garrett Diehm, a 15-year-old hunter from Lodi, “but I didn’t know it was a big buck like this.”
Garrett full of excitement – quickly snapped pictures of his 22 point trophy buck and rushed over to his family to share the news.
“I went over the my grandparents to show them the picture, and grab the wagon and stuff so we could field dress it and it was gone,” said Garrett.
He says within the 20 minutes he was gone, someone saw the buck – went onto their property and stole it.
With little to no hope, Sarah Diehm – Garretts mom contacted the Columbia County Sheriffs Office – and went to Facebook for help.
Overnight her post amassed over 5,000 shares.
The next morning, just the head and and cape of the deer were returned – and when police had arrived to investigate, so did the suspect ready to confess
“The subject pulled in and apologized to Garrett and his mom and offered to pay for the meat processing and apologize,” said Paul Nodalski, Conservation Warden for the WI DNR in Columbia County.
Within 48 hours and the help of many in the community, Garrett’s buck was back in his possession and he should be getting the meat back within the next week or two.
“I think we would have gotten there eventually,” said Nodalski. “But without the thousand people on Facebook spreading the word and pictures I think it would’ve took much longer.”
“It was hard to believe that it was taken, then it was hard to believe it was returned,” said Sarah, Garretts mother. “I just thought no way.”
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