What end deer hunter Christopher J. Alexander foresaw in November when he reported the buck whose pinups drew raves couldn’t have been this one.

The tale Alexander related at the time hinted at fortune, not ruin. At fame, not infamy. A tangle of facts sometimes intrudes.

The story of the potential Ohio record buck hasn’t reached an end exactly. An indictment is only a charge. That holds true when even 23 charges and a grand jury are involved, as occurred early this month.

A Clinton County court ultimately will adjudicate the matter of guilt.

What Alexander, 28, of Wilmington, is accused of by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office boils down to felony fraud and to misdemeanor hunting violations, some of which are tied to more than a single deer.

But it was a single deer that commanded attention.

Mike Rex, an experienced measurer of antlers, an officer in the Buckeye Big Buck Club, and a longtime and successful hunter of trophy whitetails, took a close look soon after the Nov. 9 kill and declared, “It was the biggest set of antlers I’ve ever held in my hand.”

With only the slightest of reservations, Rex said in December he would support Alexander’s 18-point buck as a state record when in January a panel of measurers officially would put tape to the typical, that is, symmetrical rack.

Neither Rex nor most interested people at the time pondered reasons to doubt Alexander’s story about a surprise late-afternoon encounter with a distant deer carrying epic antlers on property his sister, Kristina Alexander, had only recently acquired.

The deer, Alexander said, seemed to be pursuing a doe when it fortuitously ambled to within about 7 yards of the tree stand and the waiting crossbow.

“I knew he was a giant,” the hunter said. “I didn’t know he might be a record.”

A few weeks after the kill, Alexander confided that he’d already been offered $20,000 for the antlers but was holding out until the official scoring. He said was willing to take the risk because the antlers might fetch $100,000 if determined to be a record.

The possibility that a giant buck could have been roaming the countryside not far from Wilmington unknown or unphotographed did seem unlikely in an age of preseason antler scouting and in-season trail cameras.

That Alexander’s chance deer had drawn attention and interest before its demise seemed unavoidable. And thus was the case.

The big buck generously had showed up for semiregular public viewing at a local cemetery. Its head and antlers mounted on some hunter’s wall wasn’t on the wish list of many who’d come to appreciate the deer’s stately presence among them.

How the Ohio Division of Wildlife was alerted hasn’t been revealed, but an investigation begun in December uncovered evidence that led to the indictments.

According to Attorney General David Yost’s office, Alexander claimed that the deer was shot and killed on the land owned by his sister, where he had written permission to hunt. However, an investigation by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which obtained a warrant for Alexander’s cellphone data, found that deer was illegally hunted on private property 10 miles from his sister’s land.

Alexander staged the deer taking at his sister’s property, according to Yost’s office, with the help of Corey Haunert and his brother, Zachary Haunert, to conceal the poaching. The written permission presented to wildlife officers was likewise falsified.

ODNR’s investigation also found that Corey Haunert aided Alexander in poaching deer on multiple occasions, according to Yost’s office.

Charges against Alexander include three felony counts of theft by deception and one felony count of tampering with evidence. Hunting violations, all misdemeanors, include multiple counts of hunting deer without written permission, taking possession of a deer in violation of a division rule, hunting without a license and hunting deer without a valid permit. Single counts include jacklighting, theft, falsification and sale of wildlife parts.

Corey Haunert, 29, of Hillsboro, was indicted on a felony charge of tampering with evidence and on misdemeanor charges including four counts of aiding a wildlife offender, two counts of hunting without permission and a single count of falsification.

Kristina Alexander, 37, of Blanchester, and Zachary Haunert, 31, of Lebanon, face two misdemeanor counts.

Contributing: Chad Murphy, Cincinnati Enquirer

outdoors@dispatch.com

Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.

Cooper Burt has verbally committed to swim and study at The Ohio State University beginning in the 2025-26 school year. He wrote on social media:

“I’m extremely excited to announce my verbal commitment to THE Ohio State University where I will continue my academic and athletic career. I would like to thank my family for all they have done to help me get to this point. I also want to thank my coaches Chris McKinney, and Alex Muni, for all they have done for me over the years. I have dreamed of this since I was little and can not thank Coach Wright, Coach Hulme, and Coach Dorenkott and the rest of the coaching staff enough for this amazing opportunity. GO BUCKS! 🅾️🌰”

Burt is from from Okeana, Ohio, near the Indiana border. He is wrapping up his junior year at Ross High School in Hamilton, Ohio, and he does his club swimming with the Miami University Makos in Oxford, Ohio, where he trains under head coach Chris McKinney. He is a U.S. Open qualifier in both the 100 back and 200 back.

Burt placed 3rd in the 100 back (49.16) and 4th in the 100 fly (49.65) at the 2024 OHSSA Division I Championships. He also led off both the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay, going best times in the 50 back (23.34) and 100 free (47.70). He was the first swimmer from Ross High School to make the Ohio State Division 1 state meet in an individual event; he has qualified for the meet and made the podium in each of his three prep seasons.

At 2023 Winter Juniors East, he earned lifetime bests in all three of his events (100/200 back and 100 fly). He also clocked a PB in the 200 free in time trials. In March, he went best times in the 100 free, 200 back, and 50/100/200 fly at the Tim Myers Senior Short Course Championships. A couple weeks later, he kicked off 2024 long course season at Indy Sectionals with PBs in the 50 free (25.94), 100 free (55.48), 50 back (27.39), 100 back (57.69), 200 back (2:04.90), 100 fly (57.20), and 200 fly (2:12.52).

Ohio State was always Burt’s number one choice – he has been going to OSU football games his entire life and his family are big OSU fans. His mother, Shawn Burt, is a former swimmer who graduated from The Ohio State University in 1998. She coaches middle school swimming at Ross.

Burt will join the Buckeyes in the fall of 2025. His best SCY times include:

• 100 back – 49.00
• 200 back – 1:47.00
• 100 fly – 49.64
• 200 fly – 1:52.92

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