Although becoming less common, direct and intentional killings by humans have occurred. On 23 October 2007, Lonnie W. Skaggs of Olive Hill, Kentucky, and Kaleb Dee Carpenter, of Grayson, Kentucky, entered Laurel Cave in Carter Caves State Park, Kentucky, and killed 23 Indiana bats. Skaggs re-entered the cave three days later and killed another 82 endangered Indiana bats. An investigation began when Carter Caves State Park employees discovered at least 105 dead Indiana bats. The two men admitted to knowingly slaughtering an endangered species, using flashlights and rocks to knock hibernating bats off their roosts, and smashing their bodies with rocks. Bats that attempted to escape by flying away were knocked down from the air. The men stomped bats to death, bludgeoned them with flashlights, and crushed their bodies with rocks in several areas of the hibernaculum. BCI worked with the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources to establish a reward fund and provided the initial contribution. The reward quickly grew to $5,000 with support from the Southeastern Bat Diversity Network and Defenders of Wildlife and was widely reported, and the two men were caught following an anonymous tip. This incident was called a "senseless killing" by James Gale, Special Agent-in-Charge for the USFWS Southeast Region, and resulted in conviction. They pleaded guilty to violating the federal Endangered Species Act. U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward Atkins sentenced Skaggs to eight months in federal prison, and placed Carpenter on three years' probation. The case marks the first time nationwide that individuals were sentenced for killing endangered Indiana bats. BCI thanked members and donors for allowing them to help protect these bats and work toward a time when such killings finally cease.