Opening day of the 2012 firearm deer season will mark the 104th anniversary of the death of Deputy Game, Fish & Forestry Warden Julius Salmonson, the Department of Natural Resources announced today.
On Nov. 15, 1908, Salmonson, his brother and a deputy sheriff died as the three men attempted to apprehend those responsible for placing illegal fishing nets in Muskegon County’s White Lake.
The previous afternoon, Salmonson and his brother, Martin, found nets set near the mouth of a channel leading to Lake Michigan. Expecting trouble, they secured the assistance of Deputy Sheriff J.C. Hazeltine. Around midnight, the trio left their horses and lantern along the edge of the lake and proceeded out in a small flat-bottom boat to apprehend the violators.
After hearing no word from them the following day, a search party located their bodies in 7 feet of water about 600 feet off shore. The deaths were declared an accidental drowning after an investigation found no evidence of any violence toward the trio.
“The death of Deputy Warden Julius Salmonson, until 2012, had not been recognized as line-of-duty death,” said DNR Law Enforcement Division Chief Gary Hagler. “Deputy Warden Salmonson died heroically protecting the natural resources he was entrusted with. We will always remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.”
This year marks the 125th anniversary of conservation law enforcement in Michigan. Salmonson is one of 12 fallen conservation officers commemorated by the DNR earlier this year on May 15, when the department dedicated the site for a memorial to conservation officers who have died while protecting this state’s natural resources and the citizens who enjoy them.
Anyone seeking more information or who wishes to contribute to the construction of the memorial can get details at www.mcoa-online.net
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