VANISHED WITH THEIR PREY
-- AND THEIR MONEY. NEWS
13 )S GABRIELLE BURKHART
TRACKED DOWN THE
ANSWERS IN TONIGHT )S
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT.
A WARNING - SOME MAY
FIND IMAGES IN THIS
STORY DISTURBING.
"...Katie DeLorenzo/New
Mexico Conservationist
Hunter it )s what we love
to do together..." FOR
KATIE DELORENZO -
HUNTING IS MORE THAN
JUST A HOBBY.
"...Katie DeLorenzo/New
Mexico Conservationist
Hunter I )ve just been
surrounded by it my
whole life, so it )s
really having organic,
free range meat to
eat..." "...hunting for
our family is really a
lifestyle..."
KNOWN TO HER ONLINE
FOLLOWERS AS "NEW MEXICO
HUNTRESS" --
DELORENZO IS A
CONSERVATIONIST
WITH A LEARNED LOVE OF
NEW MEXICO )S LANDSCAPE
AND
WILDLIFE.
IN 2017 - SHE AND HER
DAD GOT THE RARE
OPPORTUNITY TO HUNT ORYX
TOGETHER.
AND AFTER SIX GRUELING
DAYS - THEY EACH TOOK
ONE HOME.
"...Katie DeLorenzo/New
Mexico Conservationist,
Hunter I knew it was an
irreplaceable moment
with
my dad..."
THEY PROCESSED THE MEAT.
THEN, LIKE MANY HUNTERS
DO - DELORENZO WANTED A
MOUNT MADE OF HER ORYX
TO MEMORIALIZE HER
SPECIAL HUNT.
"...Katie DeLorenzo/New
Mexico Conservationist,
Hunter female hunters
are definitely growing
in the
population but when I
heard there was a female
taxidermist, I just
thought it was really
neat..."
SHE WENT TO WILDLIFE
ARTISTRY IN BOSQUE FARMS
- WHERE TAXIDERMIST
CHRIS MORGAN TOOK HER
ORYX AND A DOWN
PAYMENT.
"...Katie DeLorenzo/New
Mexico Conservationist,
Hunter the agreement was
a year later, my animal
would be done and I
would pay her in chunks
when I could. And I was
honestly more concerned
with how soon I was
paying her rather than
when she was promising
to have it done..."
"...Gabrielle Burkhart
(more than a year later.
DeLorenzo had paid a
thousand dollars in
full, but still no
mount.
stead the shop had
osed and Chris Morg
- had vansished..."
"...Katie DeLorenzo
Reporter: when did you
realize, )I don )t know
if I am gonna get it
back? )
DeLorenzo: Well I think
I realized things were a
little precarious you
know probably a
year-and-a-half
into it..."
IT )S NOW BEEN
(TWO-AND-A-HALF YEARS.
SHE SAYS MOST OF HER
CALLS WENT UNANSWERED.
AND WHEN THEY (DID TALK
- MORGAN WOULD CLAIM THE
WORK WAS ALMOST
DONE.
"...Katie I got a little
fed up..."
IN DECEMBER - DELORENZO
REALIZED SHE WASN )T
ALONE.
"...QUICK nats
typing..."
HER POST ABOUT IT ON
FACEBOOK
WAS SHARED ALMOST
900-TIMES.
"...Katie DeLorenzo and
out of that came about
30 other people that are
in the same position..."
"...Duane
Chavez/Outdoorsman Chris
Morgan was referred to
me..."
DUANE CHAVEZ SAYS HE
PAID MORGAN TO MOUNT HIS
BARBARY SHEEP.
"...Duane
Chavez/Outdoorsman that
was handed off back in
October of 2018 to be
ready
in January of 2019, and
there )s a year later and
nothing yet..."
IT )S A STORY THEY )RE
HEARING AGAIN AND AGAIN.
"...Katie DeLorenzo
there )s a family from
Durango that gave her
ten animals from an
Africa trip..."
"...there )s a youth
hunter that killed their
first antelope that )s
gone..." "...there is a
white buffalo..."
"...there )s a trophy
elk..."
"...Katie DeLorenzo/New
Mexico Conservationist
Hunter the list is
robust, to say the least
and I think you
know, we haven )t even
heard from all of the
victims yet..."
BOSQUE FARMS POLICE ARE
NOW INVESTIGATING WHAT
(COULD BECOME A FELONY
EMBEZZLEMENT CASE.
"...Chief Paul
Linson/Bosque Farms
Police Dept. it )s
growing into a quite
larger case just
in less than two
months..."
CHIEF PAUL LINSON SAYS
IT INVOLVES TENS OF
THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.
"...Chief Paul
Linson/Bosque Farms
Police Dept. we )re gonna
send this case to the
District Attorneys
office. We )re gonna let
them review the facts
and make the determining
decision if it )s gonna
go criminal or this is
gonna be a civil
matter..."
SOME HAVE RECEIPTS, BUT
NONE OF THE VICTIMS
WE )VE SPOKEN TO HAD
(CONTRACTS WITH MORGAN.
"...Katie DeLorenzo I
think a lot of these
dealings are with a
handshake and a smile
and a deposit, and you
just trust that they
understand the value of
that animal as much as
you do..."
"...Chief Paul
Linson/Bosque Farms
Police Dept. I think
those days are
unfortunately
gone. I mean you can )t
really trust someone )s
word..."
"...Carl Chavez you have
to be dedicated..."
CARL CHAVEZ ISN )T
ASSOCIATED WITH MORGAN
IN ANY WAY, BUT AFTER
19-
YEARS IN THE BUSINESS
RUNNING MOUNTAIN LEGENDS
TAXIDERMY IN BELEN ...
"...Carl Chavez/Owner,
Mountain Legends
Taxidermy we )re bonded,
insured..." HE
UNDERSTANDS THE PRESSURE
TO PRODUCE A
HIGH-QUALITY PRODUCT
FOR EVERY CUSTOMER.
"...Carl Chavez/Owner,
Mountain Legends
Taxidermy bring back
memories of the hunt
maybe with family
members - a father, a
child..."
"...it becomes an
heirloom at that
point..."
HE SAYS IT )S TYPICAL TO
TAKE A YEAR TO COMPLETE
A JOB.
BUT COMMUNICATION AND
CONTRACTS ARE (KEY.
CHAVEZ SAYS HE )S HEARD
FROM MORGAN )S UNHAPPY
CUSTOMERS.
"...Carl Chavez/Owner,
Mountain Legends
Taxidermy nobody knows
what )s going on in
somebody else )s life,
but I hope that for her
sake and her name that
she )s able to take care
of the customers
that she has..."
"...nats dialing..."
WE CALLED MORGAN )S
LISTED BUSINESS NUMBER.
"...phone call the
subscriber you have
dialed is not in
service..."
WE EVENTUALLY REACHED
MORGAN )S MOM AND MORGAN
HERSELF CALLED US
BACK.
SHE DECLINED AN
INTERVIEW, BUT SAYS SHE
FEARS FOR HER SAFETY
AFTER RECEIVING THREATS
FROM ANGRY CUSTOMERS.
SHE CLAIMS SHE HAD TO
CLOSE FOR PERSONAL
REASONS AND MOVE OUT OF
STATE BUT (IS WORKING TO
RETURN THE ANIMALS TO
HER
CLIENTS -- EITHER
FINISHED OR UNFINISHED
-- AND HAS HER MOM
HANDLING THE
CORRESPONDENCE.
"...Katie DeLorenzo my
biggest fear is probably
that Chris got in too
deep and left the
animals somewhere
to rot..."
"...which would just be
heartbreaking for all of
us..."
"...reporter: what would
you like to get across
to her?..."
"...Duane Chavez things
happen in every one of
our lives, you know good
and bad. But what is
right is
right..."
THEY HOPE MORGAN WILL DO
THE RIGHT THING - AND
RETURN THEIR
PRIZED POSSESSIONS.
ON SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT,
GABRIELLE BURKHART, KRQE
NEWS 13.
MORGAN WOULDN )T TELL US
WHERE SHE LIVES NOW --
BUT SAYS SHE PLANS ON
MAKING A TRIP TO
ALBUQUERQUE (SOON TO
RETURN ITEMS TO HER
CUSTOMERS.
NEW MEXICO ELEMENTARY