Is Stormygirl dead or alive? Has the bird already been set loose into the wild?

Could Pati Mattrick of Elizabethtown have been given a collecting permit and been allowed to keep the male house finch she saved and unknowingly kept illegally as a pet for four years?

Could Mattrick begin training to become a licensed rehabilitator and keep the bird in the meantime, as suggested by Lancaster County's district attorney?

It's hard to tell because the Pennsylvania Game Commission, despite continuing to be peppered with angry calls and e-mails from the public, is not answering any questions about the bird it confiscated on May 13. The Game Commission said it would try to condition the bird to fend for itself in the wild.

Game Commission staffers and commissioners said any information must come from agency spokesman Jerry Feaser or executive director Carl Roe.

For the last seven days, Feaser has not acknowledged daily phone calls or e-mails with questions by this newspaper about the bird's status and other questions raised by the public. Roe has not answered three e-mails sent to him with questions — not even a "no comment."

Jay Delaney, president of the Game Commission advisory board appointed by the governor, said Monday morning that he had asked Roe to have the agency respond to questions from the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era.

"At this point, I cannot mandate anything further," Delaney said. As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Roe had not responded.

The Game Commission has said that it had no choice but to seize the bird after a feature story about it ran in this newspaper. State game laws that prohibit taking wildlife out of the wild required the agency to act, the body has said.

Meanwhile, petition drives are circulating that call for the Game Commission to unite Mattrick with the bird that pulled her through tough personal and physical hardships.

Joan Sinz, of Rothsville, said she has more than 100 people gathering signatures on a petition that says simply, "Reunite Stormygirl and Pati." She estimated the number of people who have signed to be "in the thousands."

Mattrick and others angry about the bird's confiscation are planning a protest at the Game Commission's next meeting, to be held at 8:30 a.m. Monday, June 28, at agency headquarters, 2001 Elmerton Ave., Harrisburg.

A picketing of the agency's executive offices is planned afterward, according to the "Help Stormygirl!" page set up on the Facebook website.

Sherry Wolfe, a Lebanon woman who has been organizing protests, said a request to find out where the bird is being kept will be filed under the state's Right to Know Law.

Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said that Roe, in a conversation they had more than two weeks ago, said he would see that Mattrick was provided information on the health of the bird.

Mattrick said Tuesday that she has not been contacted by anyone from the Game Commission.

Mattrick said the Game Commission's refusal to contact her feeds her fear that the bird is dead.

"I think there's a good possibility that they killed her with fright," she said.

She thinks releasing the bird outdoors would be "a death sentence."

Mattrick said she doesn't think she'll ever see Stormygirl again.

"I still just think that it was senseless. Their cruelty was just uncalled for. They'll have to answer to God some day why they had to come and take that bird just because there is a written law."

But she said her Bible reminds her that she can't hate those who took the bird from her.

"I hate what they did, but I can't hate them. If we literally hate them, we're no better than they are," she said.

Sunday she posted the following statement on the website: "My eyes are still swollen from the many tears and I continue to pray that God's will be done, not man."

Mattrick has begun volunteer work every Saturday at a bird rescue center for parrot species in Harrisburg and is in the process of adopting a macaw orphaned when its elderly owner died.

Stephen Mohr, a former Game Commissioner from Bainbridge, said he doesn't understand why the agency couldn't have given Mattrick a collecting permit. Under state game laws, people or institutions can collect otherwise protected birds and animals — except for endangered or threatened species — if they are used for school instruction, scientific study or exhibition in public museums.

"What would have been more educational and beneficial than for this lady to go around to schools?" Mohr asked.

Letters and phone calls continue to be made to local legislators, Gov. Ed Rendell and newspapers.

A spokesman for Rendell said Tuesday that the governor's office has received phone calls but that Rendell has not gotten involved in the matter.

The Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era on Tuesday received a package of 30 handwritten letters to the editor from Manor Middle School students.

Some scolded the newspaper for publishing the original story that led to the bird being seized. Most were critical of the Game Commission's action.

"Pati Mattrick did what she thought was right," wrote one male student. "The bird brought a lot of joy to her life, and it basically became her daughter. I see absolutely nothing wrong with what she did.

"I realize there's a law against it but, come on, what good could come from taking the bird away from her?"

Read additional letters about the controversy.

acrable@lnpnews.com