HOUSTON, Mo. -- With deer season upon us, the Texas County Sheriff's Department is asking hunters to keep their "sights" on the road as well. Last year, 200 all-terrain vehicles were stolen from Texas County and five neighboring counties.

Along with the opening of modern firearms deer season on Saturday, the Texas County sheriff says it's also the beginning of ATV theft season. Last week, someone bagged the first ATV of the year in the county.

On Thursday, Sheriff Carl Watson looked over two pages of vehicle identification numbers and names that detail recent ATV thefts for his county and his neighbors -- 200 for the six-county area last year.

With deer season opening, hunters will migrate to the woods with their ATVs. Texas County officials are convinced that any vehicles not chained down could be stolen.

Watson says robbers push stolen ATVs through the woods to a road, cutting through any fences that are in the way. Then they load the ATV onto a trailer. In the recent robbery, they stacked hay around the ATV so no one would notice it while it was riding down the highways. Police wouldn't think of stopping a hay truck.

Texas County law enforcement believes the stolen ATVs have been moved out of the county, and possibly the state, taken where ATVs don't need to be registered.

If you have any information on stolen ATVs, you can call the Texas County Sheriff's Department at (417) 458-4214.