Let’s not assume the worst. Let’s go ahead and assume it was a mix-up, that someone mistakenly drove off from the processor with a trophy deer head that belonged to somebody else, not intending to steal it.

It’s a reasonable explanation for what happened on Monday at Schnur’s Custom Meat Market in Jefferson Township. Nineteen-year-old Abby Hiles of Karns City dropped off her 12-point buck, planning to have the head removed for mounting by a taxidermist. But someone took it. It was gone when Hiles’ boyfriend, Josh McGinley, returned later Monday to fetch the processed buck.

Opening day of deer hunting season is always an exciting, hectic day, especially at a place like Schnur’s, which processes upward of 70 deer on a typical opening day.

It was particularly hectic Monday morning, probably because warmer than normal temperatures increased the urgency to process the meat quickly and prevent risk of spoilage. On a cooler opening day, the hunters tend to stagger their drop-offs, making the processing a little less hectic, according to Schnur’s co-owner Joyce Schnur.

So, someone driving off with the wrong trophy head is plausible.

But here is what isn’t plausible: someone else keeping the head, having it mounted, and passing it off as their own trophy.

Hiles has an insurance policy against that scenario: photographs taken early Monday of herself posing with her fresh kill. The photos clearly show the atypical antlers of her trophy, the right antler with five points, the left with seven, including a downturned point near the antler’s base.

The photos demonstrate how antlers can work like fingerprints — each has unique characteristics.

One photo of Hiles and her trophy appeared on the front page of Wednesday’s Butler Eagle and the Eagle’s website and Facebook page. A second photo appears with this editorial. By now, thousands of people have seen the image of this deer and its unique antler spread.

Hundreds if not thousands of people are talking about this incident. Taxidermists would take special interest. They would immediately report this fingerprint rack to authorities if it should show up in their workshop.

So let’s suggest a logical conclusion. Someone mistakenly drove off with a deer head that belongs to another hunter. He or she might have entertained the idea of keeping it, but that plan is no good, especially now that photos of the unique antlers were widely circulated by the Butler Eagle.

The only graceful conclusion to this mess would be to return the trophy and admit the mistake, the sooner the better. No harm, no crime, no blame.

Let’s do the honorable thing.