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Inquiry Ending in Deaths of 13 Bald Eagles in Maryland

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Whoever poisoned 13 bald eagles in Maryland last February remains unknown six months later, and the case is about to be closed.

The bodies were found on a farm field near Federalsburg, on Maryland's Eastern shore.

"They were fairly recently dead," said Natural Resources Police spokeswoman Candy Thompson at the time. "There was no sign of trauma. There was no sign of gunshot."

At a U.S. Fish and Wildlife lab, the cause of death -- poison -- was found but not released until late last week.

"It's really hard to fathom how that could happen to such a spectacular bird, and disappointing," said Mike Parr, of the American Bird Conservancy.

Disappointing because the case will be closed "due to lack of evidence linking anyone to the crime."

Another case involving five eagles in Delaware will remain open, though.

"There could be more crimes like this," Parr said. "If there's a pattern here, if something's going on, the public can definitely help."

While $30,000 of reward money was raised while millions viewed a webcam of nesting eagles in D.C. this spring, it did not produce any leads.

Even though the case is closing, "we put a reward out for information leading to a conviction in any of these cases, so it stands," Parr said.

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