Eagles

Eagles

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killed two, and they were a pair. They really killed about 20 over the life of the pair,” which is about how many the pair might have hatched.

Mr. Bankston said he has “searched and searched” for a possible nest that might have included any eaglets. Nesting sites for eagles are higher-elevation ridges, rock formations and large pines. He said the eaglets, if left unattended, would have died several weeks ago.

However, he and other scientists have concluded that the birds most likely did not have a nest.

Mr. Bankston was the last person known to have seen the birds, which were sighted in the F.T. Valley all winter. He most recently tried to photograph the pair at the end of February.

The Game Department has not come up with any solid leads on the killings, but Mr. Bankston said there are theories.

“We have other things to do, and we don’t have much to go on right now,” he said.

“We have theories and we’re working on those. There’s no concrete evidence yet. The only way we’re going to do anything is if someone comes forward” with information about the killings, he said.

Mr. Clark said, “The only people we’re hearing from right now are media. The case has attracted national attention; Fox News picked it up. A lot of people know about it.”

Mr. Clark, whose office is in Weyer’s Cave, is a native of Rappahannock, having grown up in Flint Hill. He said that at the Ben Venue races last weekend the eagles were the subject of much concern.

“The question people are asking me uniformly is, ‘Why would anyone do something like that?’ There are as many reasons as there are people committing crimes, none of which are acceptable,” said Mr. Clark.

He called whoever killed the birds “beneath contempt” and “undeserving of our sympathy. The penalties are severe, but that was a