http://www.militarytimes.com/story/entertainment/2015/12/10/adventure-show-star-charged-alaska-hunting-violations/77084918/

By Dan Joling, The Associated Press 2:14 p.m. EST December 10, 2015

In this April 11, 2014, photo, Theresa Vail walks with a hunting party in Chase County, Kan. Vail, who has served in the National Guard and is a former Miss Kansas who hosts an Outdoor Channel adventure show, is accused of illegally shooting an Alaska grizzly bear and conspiring to cover up the violation, according to charges filed in a rural state court.(Photo: Michael Pearce/The Wichita Eagle via AP)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A former beauty queen who hosts an Outdoor Channel adventure show illegally shot an Alaska grizzly bear and conspired to cover up the violation, according to charges filed in a rural state court.

Theresa Vail, 25, of Wichita, Kansas, a National Guardsman and the star of “Limitless with Theresa Vail,” is charged with killing a grizzly bear in May without possessing a state bear tag for the animal. Investigators say she held a single bear tag and shot a male grizzly bear, attempted to kill it with a second shot, and instead fired and killed a second bear, a sow grizzly.

Vail also is charged with unsworn falsification, another misdemeanor. Prosecutor Aaron Peterson in a criminal complaint said Vail signed and backdated a big game tag record to make it appear she had purchased the tag before shooting the bear.

Also charged in the case are master guide Michael Wade Renfro, 46, and assistant guide Joseph Andrew Miller, 45. They conspired to cover up Vail’s violation by obtaining the second bear tag after the bears died and submitted wrong information to game authorities, charging documents say.

Renfro’s attorney, Myron Angstman said Monday that he had not seen the criminal complaint but was aware of the charges.

“It’s an unfortunate event,” Angstman said. “It was an accidental shooting of a second bear while a person was lawfully engaged in shooting a first bear,” he said. “Those kinds of things happen once in a great while.”

Afterward, Angstman said, it appears errors in judgment occurred.

“Unforeseen things can happen when you’re out in the wilderness,” said Military Times contributor Ken Perrotte. “This includes shooting mistakes, especially in adrenaline-loaded situations requiring rapid decisions. It seems clear that some serious lapses in judgement took place, with the corresponding ethical and legal implications.

“I think there is ample evidence to show that the best thing to do when you’ve made a mistake such as this is to self-report it, explain the situation and take your lumps. People working wildlife law enforcement tend to understand that things like this can and do happen. Fortunately, such incidents are rare.

“One broader downside is that some in the nonhunting or anti-hunting world will seize on incidents like these to tar all hunters with a broad brush. The hunting community needs to ensure it always conducts, and presents, itself, in an uncompromising legal, ethical light.”

Tom Caraccioli, director of communications for the Outdoor Sportsman Group networks, said in an email that the Outdoor Channel is committed to legal and ethical hunting.

“We have strict policies and procedures in place that require all of our talent and producers to abide by all hunting regulations,” he said. “In June, Theresa Vail and the ‘Limitless’ production team alerted the authorities of the situation. The hunt never aired on Outdoor Channel.”

The channel describes the show as “the compelling story of a young, grass roots, red-blooded, all-American woman who is on a mission to overcome stereotypes, break barriers, and use her life story as a platform to help transform people’s opinions of all the things a woman should, could and can be.”

Vail is a former Miss Kansas, a member of the Army National Guard and an “ambassador” for Bass Pro Shops, Franchi Shotguns and the National Rifle Association, according to her biography on the show.

Vail was on a hunt May 19 to May 27 arranged with Renfro’s business, Renfro’s Alaska Adventures, south of Holy Cross, Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said in an email.

According to the criminal complaint, Vail hunted with Miller and used a right-handed bolt action rifle even though she’s left-handed.

The hunting party spotted the bear and sow, and at Miller’s direction, Vail fired at the bear. She chambered another round, fired a second shot and hit the sow. Both bears died.

10 thoughts on “Adventure show star charged with Alaska hunting violations”

Nancy on December 11, 2015 at 2:22 am said:

Really??? What all women should be!!!
I personally don’t appreciate a bimbo dick chick speaking for me!
I hope miss beauty queen…. enjoys her time in jail. 😉

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Richie G. on December 11, 2015 at 2:27 am said:

was she prosecuted to the full extent of the law ?

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idaursine on December 11, 2015 at 2:45 pm said:

Shooting ‘mistakes’? The capacity for rationalizing away our bad behavior knows no bounds, does it. Also, don’t you just love it when people commit crimes and other acts of selfishness, and then say “I’m sorry”? We’re supposed to think they’ve had a sudden epiphany, when really they are afraid of having their ass sent to jail and the slammer door. Oh how I love that sound. Oh, wait, they said they were sorry. 😦

The animal killers have these women, and the animal lovers have Pammie Anderson. What a difference!

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idaursine on December 11, 2015 at 2:58 pm said:

On a mission to over come stereotypes as a tacky bleached blonde. That’ll do it.

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Pamela W on December 12, 2015 at 6:27 pm said:

Yes, I certainly feel reassured that Ms Vail, an ethically-challenged criminal-leaning psycho/sociopathic utterly defective human being wants to inspire and represent my gender. She is not who I want to be and not who I want ANYONE to be. Quite the opposite. Personally, I hope she lives a brief life replete with immense suffering equivalent to that she causes other beings.

It’s ironic to read things like “The hunting community needs to ensure it always conducts, and presents, itself, in an uncompromising legal, ethical light.” Really, in an “ethical light”? There is no such thing.

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Buddy2Blogger on December 12, 2015 at 10:55 pm said:

Reblogged this on Sherlockian's Blog.

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Animalista Untamed on December 13, 2015 at 11:25 am said:

Feminism/ women’s lib doesn’t mean aspiring to the bad things men do, especially when they involve guns and gratuitous violence

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- idaursine on December 13, 2015 at 11:14 pm said:
  
  Totally agree!
  
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  - Exposing the Big Game on December 14, 2015 at 8:08 pm said:
    
    Definitely quotable…