CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A roll of chicken wire, a large plastic children's table, coolers, and even a storm door were just a few of the assortment of items cleared from one man's massive illegal fishing camp on an island in Oso Creek, said Corpus Christi Police Department officers Tuesday.
The camp was so big its supplies could fill more than one full-size passenger van and required one of the city's clawed garbage haulers to take away the debris.
"It wasn't just your 'Hey let's go fishin' for the weekend' spot," said CCPD Crime Reduction Unit Sr. Ofc. Jody Fedler. "He had some chairs, a couple of tents, some tarps. He had a couple of pots that he was using to start fires in. He was also – had a makeshift boat. I think he had a makeshift boat. There was a bunch of PVC pipes out there. He was obviously constructing something that he thought was going to stay there for quite some time."
Authorities were alerted to the camp after neighbors complained about trash from the camp making its way into the waterway. It took CCPD officers, as well as Texas Parks & Wildlife game wardens and trustees from the Nueces County Jail to attack the mess.
Wardens transported the items from the island to shore on airboats, and CCPD vehicles hauled them to the waiting Solid Waste truck on the corner of Oso Parkway and Campodolcino Drive.
"He’s collected quite a bit of trash," Fedler said. "He was given the opportunity to clean the area up and break the camp himself. He did not do it. We’ve identified him and we will be writing up a case for illegal dumping."
Because of the sheer volume of stuff on the island, the man -- whose identity has not been released -- will likely be facing felony charges.
"To make it a felony in the state of Texas it has to weigh more than 1,000 lbs. or has to be larger than 200 cubic feet," Fedler said. "And this is obviously gonna be more than 200 cubic feet."
Fedler said the camp was not a homeless camp, and that the man who set it up has a home and does not live in that neighborhood. He also said there were no signs of alcohol or drug abuse at the camp.
And while fishing camps are legal in Texas, it's illegal to keep one up for several days.
"We had made contact with him, we had told him, 'Hey, you can not do that. You can fish there all you want to but you have to break that camp,' " Fedler said. "The waterways in Texas are free and clear, you are allowed to have a fishing camp down there, however when you are done fishing you do need to break the camp."
Neighbors in the area believe the set-up had been there for about 2 years, but police could not confirm that timeline. Neighbors also said they thought the man had taken the items to the island using a kayak.
As if the clean-up wasn't already a large undertaking, it was complicated by the location of the island.
"It was pretty bad," said Kings Crossing neighborhood landscaper Michael Favata. "The game warden had to take an airboat back there. It was muddy. Nasty. Water’s very low."
He said it took several neighbors helping law enforcement to get the project done, a project the likes of which he's never seen.
"I’m a volunteer firefighter -- I’ve seen a lot of stuff," he said. "This is really something. This is new to me."