Still no charges in falcon incident

Charges are still pending against a woman suspected of attacking and killing a falcon owned by a Hauser hunter last month.

Craig Walker, an Idaho Department of Fish and Game regional conservation officer, told The Press Thursday that the suspect in the Jan. 7 incident has hired an attorney. The attorney and IDFG representatives have been trying to schedule a meeting, which has slowed the process of filing charges.

According to Scott Dinger, the woman parked her red Jeep Wrangler near the spot where his falcon, Hornet, was in the process of killing a duck the duo had successfully hunted.

Dinger, 50, said as he was approaching the scene, he saw his falcon, clearly injured, flying away. Dinger - a former law enforcement officer - said he immediately identified himself to the woman as a falconer who had just lawfully hunted the duck over which she was standing.

The woman then asked Dinger if Hornet was his falcon and when he replied that it was, she allegedly told the falconer that she had beaten the bird. He found Hornet dead approximately an hour later and said the bird suffered a fractured skull and broken leg.

Walker said the woman could face additional federal charges for unlawfully taking a protected species.