On Friday, Sept. 28, state Department of Environmental Conservation police officer Scott Atwood was on patrol when he noticed a strong odor that smelled like burning debris coming from behind a camp in the town of Pitcairn, St. Lawrence County.

Atwood saw a fire along an all-terrain vehicle trail as well as bags of corn stacked around the area and in the back of a pickup truck. Atwood followed fresh ATV tracks to the smoldering pile of debris, and then past that to an enclosed and elevated hunting stand. He spotted a hanging feeder and watched as a man exited the stand with a rifle over his shoulder. The man appeared to be tracking an animal, and…