With charges apparently imminent against an Amish farmer who claims he was attacked by a cougar in Sadsbury Township Oct. 9, a sportsmen's group has hired an attorney to represent him.

"The whole purpose is to protect Samuel Fisher's rights, not to prove he is guilty or not guilty," said Charles Bolgiano, an East Hempfield Township resident and board member of the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania.

The group has retained Middletown attorney Kendra A. Mohr "to protect Samuel's legal, constitutional rights," according to a USP statement.

USP has set up a defense fund for Fisher and is asking that donations be sent to USP Legal Defense Fund/Samuel Fisher Defense, Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania, 260 Orchard View Drive., Leola, PA, 17540.

Mohr has sent a letter to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, notifying them Fisher was not to be approached anymore for questioning.

The attorney is the daughter of Stephen Mohr, of Bainbridge, who is president of USP.

According to sources, a Pennsylvania Game Commission official contacted Fisher's bishop recently and notified him the agency would be filing charges against Fisher.

An unnamed Game Commission official was quoted in the latest issue of Pennsylvania Outdoor News as saying charges against Fisher were a matter of when, not if.

Fisher, 42, of 92 Windy Top Road, says he shot one of three mountain lions seen near his farm on the afternoon of Oct. 9. He was following a blood trail of the animal when another jumped from a tree onto him, causing lacerations that had to be treated at a hospital. He said the attack ended when he stabbed the mountain lion and it ran off.

Reports of a large catlike creature had surfaced in the area for weeks before the incident  — and continued for several weeks afterward.

After the alleged attack, a massive hunt ensued, involving a helicopter, dogs and traps.

The Game Commission said samples of what Fisher pointed out as the blood trail were sent to a lab and turned out not to be blood. Also, blood found on the knife Fisher said he used to stab the animal turned out to be human blood, not from an animal, the agency reported.

The agency is still awaiting further analysis of the substance collected from the supposed blood trail.

The Game Commission says the whole incident was a hoax and that it might charge Fisher with making false statements.

Fisher has repeatedly stuck by his story. And USP has been supportive, charging the Game Commission with minimizing reliable sightings of mountain lions in the area.


Staff writer Ad Crable can be reached at acrable@LNPnews.com or 481-6029.