Missouri Department of Conservation agents are searching for vandals who defaced Castor River Shut-Ins at Amidon Memorial Conservation Area near Fredericktown.
The vandals spray-painted on the only known pink granite shut-ins in Missouri.
In a press release, MDC Forestry Regional Supervisor Joe Garvey said the vandals victimized everyone who enjoys the shut-ins.
“Every citizen can look at this and say ‘they just messed up my conservation area’,” Garvey said in the press release. “This action demonstrates a complete lack of ethics and a lack of respect for nature, the people who take care of it and the people who enjoy it.”
Garvey and other MDC employees are considering the best way to remove the spray paint without contaminating the shut-ins watershed.
Conservation Agent District Supervisor Russell Duckworth indicated that the department will pursue formal charges.
Anybody with information can contact the MDC’s 24-hour Operation Game Thief hotline at 1-800-392-1111 or Madison County Conservation Agent Scott Bumgardaner at 573-934-0824. Duckworth said that information that leads to the arrest of the responsible party could result in a cash reward.