Deputy Warden Charles W. Niles

Charles W. Niles

Deputy Warden Charlie Niles and Game Warden Lyman Hill were shot and killed while attempting to arrest two poachers on the Machias River.

Deputy Warden Niles and Warden Hill had been tracking the poachers, who had been using dogs to run deer, for about ten days. When they finally approached the men, an argument broke out. As Deputy Warden Niles took off his coat in order to take hold of the poachers' dog, one of the poachers pulled out a double-barrel shotgun and opened fire. Deputy Warden Niles and Warden Hill were both killed instantly.

The poachers escaped after the incident, but a posse was formed to find and arrest them. Their killer was later apprehended in California, returned to Maine, and charged with two counts of murder. He was sentenced to life but released in 1906.

Deputy Warden Niles had served with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife - Warden Service for 10 days.