Soldier blamed for killing swans

JIM LAKE — Alaska Wildlife Troopers announced Monday they believe a military man was responsible for killing two swans earlier this month.

The swans were found dead May 9 on Jim Lake. Troopers said at the time they believed the swans were killed that day or the day before and sought the public’s help in finding the shooter.

Lt. Tory Oleck with the Wildlife Troopers said the case came together with help from Fort Richardson Military Police and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as concerned locals.

“It’s certainly been a collaborative effort,” Oleck said. “The public has helped out and made some phone calls.”

He said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service came in because the swans are migratory birds covered under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act. Military police were involved because the suspect, Matthew Van Syckle, 22, lives on Fort Richardson.

The criminal charge mentioned in the press release as one Van Syckle likely will face is of taking a swan in a closed season. Which begs the question, is there a legal time to hunt swans?

“There is, but not in this unit and certainly not at this time of year,” Oleck said.

Trooper Cody Litster investigated the case. He said Van Syckle maintains he didn’t believe the birds were swans.

“He wasn’t sure what they were,” Litster said. “In fact, he still maintains that they were geese or ducks. I think his words were that he had never shot that far before and if he happened to hit one he could maybe have it for breakfast — a young kid who probably wasn’t thinking as clearly as he should have been.”

He said Van Syckle is active duty military and had just returned from a long deployment.

“Everyone in the Butte area is extremely upset about it,” Litster said. “At the same time, the guy that was behind the trigger was a military guy who’d just gotten back form an extensive deployment.”

He said the weekend the birds were shot was the first weekend with good weather this summer.

A lot of people were out there, which means a lot of people were able to provide information about the incident, from a group of kayakers to a guy who’d lost his dog.

“We got more calls on this than anything I can think of … in the seven years that I have been a trooper,” Litster said.

Oleck said the case is noteworthy for a number of reasons, first being how seldom such cases come to troopers.

“It’s rare. I guess it’s a good thing that it’s rare,” Oleck said. “Certainly, out on the Knik River Public Use Area bird watching at this time of year is a popular pastime, and swans in particular are always a favorite bird of the viewing public.”

Which speaks to another reason the case is noteworthy — swans are the type of animals the public becomes upset about if someone kills them and doesn’t seem to have a good reason. Oleck said troopers also pay attention.

He said that if the violator were a person who, during a legal hunting season, just shot a moose that was the wrong size or for some other reason didn’t fit the criteria of a legal kill; that would be one thing.

“That person is handled and treated differently than someone who goes out and shoots one completely during the closed season and for all the wrong reasons,” Oleck said. “Taking swans in the springtime of the year is a significant violation for us.”

Van Syckle’s name did not turn up in court databases, which is not uncommon for wildlife violations, which are often handled using summonses rather than by arresting suspects. A summons allows a person to remain free while awaiting a court appearance.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.