116 Deadly Harvest – With Kevin Behr

In Appalachian Ohio and beyond, ginseng hunting is a centuries-old tradition. Prized for its medicinal value and prestige, American ginseng was one of America’s first exports to the Far East. Today, highly regulated but harvested to near extinction, its value has only increased, setting the stage for a black market that often results in arrests, prison time, and tragedy.

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Here’s what we discuss:

  • Kevin’s ongoing recovery and recent activities
  • Investigation began in Ohio in 2012, when a family reported an overdue hiker
  • Bobby Joe Grubbs had been dropped off for a walk, but did not return
  • Grubbs was known to police
  • Sherrif’s office pinged cell phone
  • Phone was located on 87-year-old Joseph Kutter’s property
  • Property owner gave police permission to search, but nothing was found
  • Cell phone had dialed 911 but disconnected
  • Kutter’s property featured a meticulously tended ginseng patch
  • A second search was launched using cadaver dogs
  • Dogs alerted on a loader bucket
  • Kutter immediately confessed to shooting Grubbs
  • Claimed Grubbs was stealing ginseng
  • A confrontation ensued and Kutter fired his weapon
  • Kutter then moved the body twice in the following days
  • Autopsy revealed ginseng in Grubbs’ pockets – and a business card
  • Grubbs had called family to report finding “the mother lode” of ginseng
  • Kutter pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter
  • Case highlights the mindsets of both ginseng growers and poachers
  • Easy money from ginseng often funds drug habits
  • Ginseng hunting (and poaching) can be a way of life passed down through generations
  • Black market is unnervingly similar to the drug trade

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Art & Design: Ashley Hannett

Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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96 Jason Keller – Ohio DNR: Lessons From A Shooting

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Officer Jason Keller was on the scene when fellow officer Kevn Behr was shot at close range by a poacher. In this episode, he recalls the incident and the aftermath, and shares some important lessons learned on that day.

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Here’s what we discuss:

  • Decoy operation began normally
  • Saw pickup truck drop a passenger with a long gun
  • Heard a shot ring out, and then screaming
  • The emergency button: technology can be a blessing
  • Stop the Bleed’ course
  • Packed the wound with gauze
  • Couldn’t find an exit wound
  • Perception of time changed
  • Shooter was identified right away
  • WIN philosophy: What’s Important Now?
  • Focus shifted to investigation
  • K-9 Scout located the shell casing
  • State trooper picked up the suspect
  • Shooter’s position identified by K-9 Scout at 48 feet (14.6m)
  • Public health protocols prevented visiting the hospital
  • Returned to the scene to search for additional evidence
  • Writing the Critical Incident report was challenging
  • Testified in court while suspect smiled
  • Officer Behr’s wife provided progress updates
  • Lessons learned: train as though scenarios are real
  • Be as mentally prepared as possible for critical incidents
  • Know where your First Aid kit is, and how to use it
  • When time allows, make sure to contact your own family
  • Dispatchers are a lifeline

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Art & Design: Ashley Hannett

Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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95 Kevin Behr – Ohio: Shot By A Poacher

Five days before Christmas 2020, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Officer Kevin Behr was shot from behind while investigating a poaching operation.  Nearly two years and 15 surgeries later, he shares his remarkable story of survival, courage, and determination.

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Sovereign Sportsman Solutions

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Maine’s Operation Game Thief

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International Wildlife Crimestoppers

Here’s what we discuss:

  • Incident occurred on the final day of deer gun season
  • Information about a chronic poacher operating in the area
  • Poacher had previously served prison time
  • Setting up a decoy in a rural area
  • Shooter was less than fifty feet away
  • Shot from behind with a 20-gauge slug
  • You feel being shot before you hear it
  • Reverted to training: communicate, move, shoot
  • Hit the emergency button on portable radio
  • Legs wouldn’t work
  • Goal was to stay alive until someone arrived
  • Felt like molten steel
  • Shattered pelvis, multiple organs damaged
  • Shock wave travelled through the skull
  • “Bring more combat gauze.”
  • Concerns about potential ambush
  • New goal: stay alive until EMTs arrived
  • In and out of consciousness
  • New goal: stay alive until landing at the hospital
  • Accept the fact that you have been shot
  • Use those few seconds to focus on training – and act
  • Requested the level one trauma centre
  • Milliseconds count
  • Shooter had a thermal scope – what did he see?
  • Offered no aid. Threw gun and ran.
  • Potentially more homicides in this felon’s future
  • Some light moments on a dark day
  • 28 days in ICU
  • Fifteen surgeries to date
  • The long road back
  • Your mindset matters
  • Most internal organs were damaged
  • Nobody gets a free pass from PTSD
  • Learning new limits
  • Making gains all the time
  • Spinning a positive from a negative
  • Training, tactics, and experience will get you through
  • Shooter sentenced to a total of nearly 15 years

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Art & Design: Ashley Hannett

Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

Subscribe:

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Google

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Find More Here:

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