Dead spoonbills found at Bagnell Dam

LAKE OZARK, Mo. -- Thousands of dead spoonbills have been piling up at Bagnell Dam, prompting the Missouri Department of Conservation to seek an explanation.

"We're finding dead spoonbill up to 40 pounds below the dam with abrasions, lacerations and broken bills, which leads us to believe they were injured going over the spillway," said Greg Stoner, a conservation department lake fisheries biologist.

Some were cut in half, indicating some spoonbills went through the turbines.

In an effort to determine what is happening, the department of conservation has been collecting fish for the last three days.

Officials estimate there were about 300 dead fish per day, with no indication how long the fish had been dead before they were notified.