Thirty-eight-year-old Jared Meister of Rising City is scheduled to appear in Custer County Court on July 14th, facing accusations of killing a rare white bison owned by a Custer County hunting lodge last year.
White, or blonde, bison are extremely rare. Mitch and Roxanne Huggins, owners of Comstock Premier Lodge near Sargent, noticed their prized bison missing in 2023 and reported it to the Nebraska State Patrol. The animal was valued at approximately $30,000 as a hunt or around $8,000 if sold.
According to court documents, the bison had been on land leased from Kenneth Meister, Jared Meister’s father. Investigators learned from a guest that the missing bison, or one resembling it, was mounted at Great Plains Taxidermy in Schuyler under the name Meister. Taxidermy shop owner Jim Kasik confirmed that Jared Meister had dropped off the bison bull’s head and cape in February 2023 and picked up the finished mount that August.
When authorities questioned Meister in March 2024, he claimed he bought the bison from an elderly couple in South Dakota, but it was injured after getting caught in a gate on his rural Butler County property and needed to be destroyed. He showed investigators the mount in his home.
However, photos from Comstock Premier Lodge showed a distinctive groove in the bison’s right horn that matched a crack on the mounted head. In February 2025, a Texas A&M University veterinary pathobiology and genetics professor reviewed photos of both the living bison and the mount, concluding there was strong evidence they were the same animal due to its unique horn feature and rare color.
Neighbors told investigators they had never seen such a bison on Meister’s property. When contacted again in March 2025, Meister said the mount had been stolen the previous weekend, nearly a year after his initial interview, but he never reported the theft to law enforcement.
Meister was charged in May 2025 with felony theft by unlawful taking over $5,000. He posted 10% of his $15,000 bond on May 19th and was released. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 14th in Custer County Court. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison with no minimum sentence.
Comments