A fisherman and his son made a unique discovery on the Rio Grande in Voss County.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, Ben Clarkson and his son Sam found an antler on the riverbed of Sowards Ford Access.

When the two pulled it apart, part of the shelf was a single bull elk antler attached to a small part of the skull plate.

Harrison County Agent Cpl. Josh Roller received a call regarding this discovery on December 3.

"It looks very old, like it has been in the water for a while," Roller told MDC.

MDC stated that the elk were native to Missouri, but they "extincted from the state in the mid to late 1800s."

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Over-hunting by colonists and changes in habitat have led to a decrease in the number of elk. 

Due to the rich habitat, the elk have recovered to some areas southeast of the Ozarks. 

Habitat changes and excessive hunting during the pioneer settlement period led to their demise. MDC has restored the elk in a limited area of ​​the Ozarks, where the habitat is abundant. Outside of recovery areas in other parts of the state, the elk have not been recovered.

"In the past few years, an elk has occasionally wandered from western states to northwest Missouri, and the antlers may have come from one of these animals," MDC said in a press release. "Or, if buried in mud and protected from the weather or rodents, the antlers may be very old."

The roller cannot determine its source.

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The Clarksons were able to keep the antlers because Basil wrote a disposal permit. The antlers or elk antlers attached to the skull plate can be kept, but they must be kept after the discoverer contacts the protection agency to obtain disposal permission.

For information about Elk in Missouri, please visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/Ztb.

Sara Karnes is an outdoor reporter for Springfield News-Leader. Follow her adventures on Twitter and Instagram @Sara_Karnes. Do you have a story to tell? Email her skarnes@springfi.gannett.com.