Expect the Unexpected
District Game Warden Greg Hastings
Being a game warden is a challenging but rewarding job.
Every day is a different adventure, with some not even relating to our normal duties.
As a game warden we go through a law enforcement training academy like most other law enforcement officers, but our main focus is protecting the natural resources we love.
Our normal duties usually fall on working alone, in the middle of nowhere, with back up far away.
That being said, when we need back up its good to have a strong working relationship with other local law enforcement officers in our areas.
Back in the spring of 2012, I was a newly stationed game warden in the Pembina Gorge area of North Dakota.
I was out patrolling my new district trying to learn all the back roads when a call came across the radio of a vehicle pursuit in Cavalier County.
The report was of a man driving at a high rate of speed, in a pickup truck, pulling an enclosed trailer.
Allegedly the man had people held hostage in the trailer while he was on this rampage down the highway.
I was not far from the area so I started to head that way to assist however I could.
Soon after, the man driving the pickup rear ended a Cavalier County deputy. The deputy’s car was demolished, but the pickup and trailer continued running from law enforcement.
Other law enforcement continued to pursue the pickup and trailer north of Langdon on Highway 1.
Now I’m thinking to myself, this guy is going to run out of highway since the Canadian border is not far ahead.
Numerous Border Patrol agents were waiting with spike strips to take this guy’s tires out to end the pursuit.
Just prior to getting to Canada, the pickup pulling the trailer burst into flames from prior damage from when it rammed the deputy car.
Instead of pulling over and getting out of the pickup, the man decided to take a detour into Mount Carmel Dam.
The man must have thought his pickup and trailer were amphibious, as he continued to drive deeper and deeper into the lake.
I guess it worked to put the fire out, but the pickup soon stalled out.
The man began swimming away from the pickup with law enforcement apprehending him soon after.
Now the concern goes back to are there really hostages in the enclosed trailer? Keep in mind it was springtime, and the water was ice cold.
Law enforcement officers did what they could to get to the trailer, but found it was padlocked.
Thankfully, fire and rescue arrived soon after with a bolt cutter and wetsuits.
Fortunately, no one was in the trailer and the deputy that was rear ended was not seriously injured.
Game wardens true love is protecting the natural resources of the state, but sometimes the unexpected happens.
So, if you happen to see a game warden helping other law enforcement in the area just remember sometimes it takes a team effort.
