If you like fish and wildlife content, be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on future videos. An officer with the Missouri Department of Conservation received a phone notification from a department owned camera placed in front of the entrance to Cobb's Cavern in Rockwood Reservation. The cavern is closed to the public for both public safety and the health of the wildlife in the cavern. The cavern is home to bats which are sensitive to diseases such as white nose syndrome, a fast spreading fungal disease that is easily transported by human clothing and footwear. >> Hey there, conservation agent. Hello there. Hey. Conservation agent. So you know this area is restricted. >> Oh, it is? >> Yeah, so you obviously saw the signs at the entrance of the cave. >> I didn't see the signs. >> Well, go ahead and grab your stuff and I'll walk you over there. >> I'm doing some photography here. >> I get I I get it, yeah. >> Let me break this down, is that >> Yeah, go ahead. I don't want you to, you know, damage your equipment. I know how expensive that stuff gets. So, who all is with you today? >> Uh just myself. >> Just yourself? Okay. >> Why do they have this restricted? >> So, part of it's instability of all the rocks collapsing. >> Oh. >> Also, there's bats in here. >> Oh, really? >> Yeah, so we don't want to spread any sort of diseases out to them. Plus, I'm sure you've seen all the graffiti and so people coming out here messing with the cave poses a health risk to the wildlife as well. >> I got it. >> Yeah. >> I had no idea there were bats in here. I thought bats would like go way back in caves and stuff. >> They There's all sorts of bats. Some of them will perch um in dead trees, in caves. Sometimes they'll go into attics. But yeah, there's there's bats out here. >> Okay. >> Did you come in through the opening in the gate like it's torn in or >> No, I went right here. >> Uh-huh. >> Yeah. Yeah, there was a gate that you can come in. >> All right. >> Yeah, I'm not a graffiti artist or anything. I get it. >> Yeah, just taking some pictures. >> I like doing wildlife photography and take pictures of me trucks and >> Did you park at the trailhead? >> I did, yeah. >> Okay, is that your white truck? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Did you come in from this way or the other way? >> Uh I don't remember. >> All right. Just cuz there's a sign right there >> Okay. >> that talks about how this entire area is off limits and there's another sign at the other entrance. >> Yeah, I've must have missed that then. Trying to avoid weeds and ticks and things like that. Like I said, one time this was open. >> At one time it was open, but that was like way back, I think, before the 2000s. That's why it's all paved, but that's all from a bygone era. >> Exactly. >> So, was it that opening on the right? >> Yeah, it was like Yeah, right there. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> All right. I just opened up that right now cuz I got the keys. >> Okay. >> Yeah, so if you look right there and then that sign right there. Yeah, and then we have this entire fencing which would imply Yeah, do you got your ID on you or is it back in the truck? >> It's back in the truck. >> All right. We'll go back to the truck. Did you get any any cool photos at least? >> Uh >> I think so. I'm just getting set up. >> All right. Have you been out here to Rockwood Reservation before or is this your first time? >> No, I've been out here before. >> [snorts] >> The Quarry Trail. >> Mhm. >> And I come out here in the springtime and mushroom hunt. >> Oh, nice. Any any nice hauls this uh this spring? >> No, this spring I didn't do that good. I think there's a lot more people too and I don't know if it was too wet or I got in too late. I got them. >> Yeah, no, I uh back in April, May around that time of year I was running to a lot of people coming out here trying to look for some morels or whatever they could. >> Yeah. >> Nobody I talked to had any luck, but I'm sure even if they found good spots, they weren't going to tell me. >> I used to find them up this valley. >> Yeah. >> Right where it splits. >> Mhm. >> You keep going straight up the creek. There's There's good spots up there. This valley and then the one behind the uh Oh, the construction maintenance shed there. >> Yeah. >> They're pretty good too. But those you can you can take as long as they're personal consumption. >> can take mushrooms out of here. Yeah, if you're coming out with like five-gallon buckets worth, then maybe that that's probably a little beyond personal consumption, but >> Yeah. >> I haven't seen that here before, so >> So, is this area up here restricted? >> Technically, this trail is also restricted. Yeah. But I'm more worried about the cave. >> Okay. So, if you if you come in here, you can hike off trail, right? >> Yeah, there there are portions where you can hike off trail. Uh the cave is uh sure There's a better spot to go down that way. The cave is for sure restricted. All of the caves here are. >> Okay. >> Yeah, there's a lot of caves out here. That's part of the uh limestone geology here. But uh the ones that are known are closed off to the public. >> Yeah. >> Also, if you can get your ID, I'd appreciate that. All right, thank you. So, have you ever uh uh spoken with a conservation agent before? >> No. >> All right. So, here's the thing. We got a lot of signs there saying you can't go in. We got the fence itself. We try to fix that fence as much as we can, but every time we do, someone tears it open. I know that wasn't you, but just [clears throat] uh part of my job is enforcing the wildlife code and protecting the wildlife out here. So, I will have to issue a citation for being in the cave. >> Okay. >> Uh but after that, you'll be free to be on your way. All right? >> So, I'll make this quick. You can hang out in your AC. It's hot out here. >> Okay. >> All right. >> Pretty muggy. >> Yep. All right, sir. Here is your ID back. >> Okay. >> So, like I said, I'm issuing you a citation for being in the cave. It's off limits. Uh I'm not kicking you out of the conservation area. So, if you want to be here the rest of the day, you can. Just make sure you're abiding by all the regulations. >> Sure. >> Uh so, there is a court date associated with this. However, there's also the option to plead and pay online. Whatever you do, that's your decision. >> Okay. >> Uh the court date is for December 16th, no, excuse me. October 16th at 9:00 a.m. at the >> Horse Road? >> Uh so, it would be at the county courthouse in Clayton. >> okay. Is that like a trespassing ticket? >> No, so it would be just an area violation. >> Okay. >> Um so not not not a charge. >> record or anything like that? >> Uh so all of our violations are either infraction or misdemeanor. >> Okay. >> Class A misdemeanor. >> Okay. >> Uh if you want to get a lawyer, that's your prerogative. >> Right. >> Um >> What's the difference between an infraction and a misdemeanor? >> An infraction would be like a seatbelt ticket and a misdemeanor would be like a speeding ticket. >> Okay. Got you. >> Does that make sense? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> So it won't show up on my driver driver's license record? >> It won't it won't affect your driver's license record if that's what you're curious. It wouldn't affect any point system. >> Right. >> It's uh >> Cuz I don't have a record right now. >> Uh-huh. >> So I if if if I get pulled over for something, they're going to look back and they're going to say, "Oh, well, see we see here you were but you say it was tres- not trespassing. >> So it it would be So it's under chapter 11, our area regulations. >> Okay. So it was a restricted area. >> Yeah. >> Yeah, just you're just being in a restricted area, which is also classified under the same uh thing as like horseback riding in an area you're not allowed to horseback ride on or take your bike on mountain biking on a horse trail. It's like that. It's not it's not trespassing. If it was trespassing, then it would be more severe. >> Okay. >> Um but that's why I'm writing it as cave exploring and not trespassing. >> Okay. >> Does that make sense? So I'm not writing it as severe as trespassing, just as cave exploring in an area that you're not supposed to be in. Yeah. >> Okay. >> Does that make sense? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. And uh if you want to look over that, the ticket, make sure all the information there is correct. >> Okay. >> Uh >> I kind of did that while I was talking to you. >> And at the bottom, if you can sign there, it's not an admission of guilt, it's just to state that I've explained what the charges are and that you'll deal with it however you want to deal with it. Make sense? >> Yeah. >> All right, I'll get you your copy. And then you'll be free to >> Go about my way. >> Go about Go about your way. >> Like I said, I'm not kicking you out of here. Just enforcing that regulation for the cave. All right? >> right. Thank you. >> All right. All right. Bye-bye. >> In the end, the suspect was charged with cave exploring in an unauthorized section of a department area. He later played guilty and was ordered to pay $121.50 in costs and fines. If you like this video and want to see more like it, subscribe to Arrest Cam. As always, thanks for watching. >> [music]