Kaci Mitchell spends her days running cattle on her property in rural Seymour.

"There's been some different mountain lions and stuff like that around here but no bears," Mitchell said. "There's a lot of traffic; I don't think there's any way somebody saw it here, I think it was dumped most likely."

Department of Conservation agencts recovered the 200-pound black bear's body. The killing happened during open bow season, in which it's legal to hunt deer and turkey. It's illegal to kill a bear, however, and officials say any hunter should know that.

"This just looks wrong, however you look at it," said Francis Skalicky, an educator and spokesman for the Missouri Conservation Department.

Agents say it was definitely an arrow that killed the bear. From what they can tell, it was not in self defense.

"The wound was going from the top to the bottom, so it seems it was shot from a tree stand," said Skalicky. "Archery shots are made at a relatively close distance, so target identification is pretty easy to do."

Bears are a protected species in Missouri because not many are here. Mitchell, for one, hopes whoever is responsible can be hunted down before he or she does any more hunting.

Agents say, if there is a good enough tip that brings about an arrest and conviction, the tipster could get a big cash reward. If you have any information, you're asked to call the Missouri Conservation Hotline at 1-800-392-1111.

If the killer is caught, it's a misdemeanor that carries a fine up to $1,000 fine and/or a county jail sentence up to six months.