JEFFERSON TWP — The head of a local woman's trophy buck disappeared Monday from a deer processor.

Abby Hiles, 19, of Karns City brought the 12-point buck she shot on opening day to Schnur's Custom Meat Market. She had planned to mount the head, but someone accidentally or intentionally removed it.

Hiles has been hunting for seven years, mostly during archery season. But this year she picked up a rifle and bagged a trophy animal.

“This was the first buck I took with a rifle,” she said. “It was a pretty exciting morning.”

Hiles and her boyfriend, Josh McGinley, were hunting in Armstrong County. She said she shot the deer at around 7 a.m., and was excited by the sight of a unique feature to the deer's antlers: a downturned brow tine on its left side. She believes that unusual tine could have also made her deer attractive to whoever may have taken it.

“There were bucks out there that were higher and wider than mine,” Hiles said.

Hiles and McGinley arrived at the processor at around 10:30 a.m. and left the whole deer intact, according to McGinley

Joyce Schnur, who co-owns the market with her husband, Larry, said she remembers McGinley's drop-off because he has used the market since he was a boy and it was hard to forget Hiles' excitement. She said she also recorded that McGinley asked for the deer to be processed with special plans in mind.

“We wanted to get it caped out,” McGinley said.

Other hunters had the opportunity to remove their trophy heads before leaving their deer at the processor's drop-off area. But Hiles had hoped to do what is called a shoulder mount, which requires more of the hide be left intact with the head. The procedure takes extra time and precision, and is better handled by the processor, according to Schnur.

Schnur said McGinley arrived to pick up the processed deer and head Monday afternoon. He found the body, but no head.

“My heart just sank,” Schnur said. “We went and pulled out every single deer head (in storage.)”

McGinley said it could be possible for someone to have accidentally taken the wrong head, but it would have be an odd circumstance.

“Maybe they went home and didn't realize it,” he said.

But, he said he believes the head was stolen.

“I don't think it was an accident,” he said. “I think somebody had a little jealousy in them.”

Schnur said she later asked the market's team of skinners about the head. They told her it did not have a head when they brought it in, according to Schnur.

Schnur said she has tried to reach out to a number of people, but has no leads.

“I have called people and asking them, hoping someone would come clean,” she said.

She said she is angry that someone would do this at her market.

“I've never had, in 23 years, nothing like this ever happened here,” she said.

Schnur said she will continue to help Hiles search for the missing head.

“It breaks my heart because these are my people,” she said. “I like to take care of them.”

Hiles said McGinley called the Pennsylvania Game Commission Tuesday morning, hoping to report the incident. They are not planning to report the incident to the police.

She said the premature removal of the head will cost her a cape mount, but she still would like the head back.

“They destroyed the possibility of having the cape mount,” she said. “All I want is (the head) back. No questions. No confrontations.”

Hiles said she hopes the person who has the head will return it to Schnur's, and in the meantime she will have to be satisfied with the thrill she felt that morning.

“Regardless, they can't take the experience of the hunt, the memories and the pictures,” Hiles said.