RECORD DEER Goliath, once-burgled buck, dies; foul-play not suspected

The deer was believed to be the largest whitetail bred in captivity.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Goliath, a once-stolen massive buck worth perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars, has died.
The deer had been taken from its breeder five years ago, a theft that led to charges against another deer breeder. The animal was recovered last year.
"It's just like losing a family member," said Diane Miller, who raised the buck with her husband, Rodney, at their Wild Bunch Ranch, about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh.
Sent for testing
The Millers have sent the body for testing to determine a cause of death, but Miller said no obvious signs of foul play were found. The deer died Dec. 6.
"It could have been due to a lot of the stress that he endured from being away from here," Miller said. Goliath was 7 1/2 years old; the life span of a deer is 10 to 15 years.
Goliath, believed to be the largest whitetail bred in captivity, vanished from the Miller's ranch in October 1999. He was about 2 years old, weighed 260 pounds and had 28 points, or antler tips, at the time.
In July 2003, members of the Pennsylvania Deer Farmers Association located the creature believed to be Goliath on Jeffrey Spence's White Oak Whitetail Deer Farm in Reynoldsville, about 50 miles from Miller's farm. The deer had grown much larger and its rack about doubled in points.
Awaiting charges
Spence is awaiting trial on charges of theft and receiving stolen property in Goliath's disappearance. He was charged in October.
Since its recovery, the deer has been the subject of DNA testing and an ongoing civil court fight. DNA testing on the recovered buck matched a sample taken from Goliath before he disappeared, according to Ronald Elliott, Miller's attorney.
At first, Spence suggested the deer, whom he called Hercules, wasn't Goliath. His attorney, Troy Harper, has also said that if the deer is Goliath, Spence acquired it "in the proper manner." Spence was trying to sell the buck for $150,000 at the time it was found.
Goliath's death won't affect the court cases, Elliott said.
They bred deer
The Millers breed deer to sell to other deer farms and ultimately to game farms, where hunters pay for the opportunity to bag trophy bucks.
Miller has declined to put a value on Goliath, but he had offered a $100,000 reward. Some massive bucks have sold for more than $500,000.
Diane Miller said Goliath mated this fall.
"Hopefully the does he was in with this fall will fawn to him in the spring," she said.