State police investigate Derry Township taxidermist for allegedly keeping animals, money – The Latrobe Bulletin

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Mostly clear. Low 62F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..
Mostly clear. Low 62F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
Updated: September 15, 2026 @ 4:27 pm
Jacob Gibas’ rainbow trout hangs at Forever Ridge Taxidermy beneath a sign. Gibas claimed he was happy with the work Mike Chesla did in 2021.
Jacob Gibas’s Euro mount skull hangs on the wall at Forever Ridge Taxidermy. Gibas claimed he was happy with the work done on his 2022 project. 
A rainbow trout and Euro mount deer from Forever Ridge Taxidermy hang in Jacob Gibas’ former living room. Gibas claimed he was happy with the work Mike Chesla did in 2021 and 2022.

Jacob Gibas’ rainbow trout hangs at Forever Ridge Taxidermy beneath a sign. Gibas claimed he was happy with the work Mike Chesla did in 2021.
Jacob Gibas’s Euro mount skull hangs on the wall at Forever Ridge Taxidermy. Gibas claimed he was happy with the work done on his 2022 project. 
A rainbow trout and Euro mount deer from Forever Ridge Taxidermy hang in Jacob Gibas’ former living room. Gibas claimed he was happy with the work Mike Chesla did in 2021 and 2022.
Mike Chesla, owner of Forever Ridge Taxidermy, can supposedly stuff everything from rainbow trout to coyotes. However, police believe he may have accepted money and animals from hundreds of customers without ever actually working on them.
State police and the Pennsylvania Game Commission searched the Derry Township taxidermist on Monday, Dec. 22, according to state trooper Steve Limani.
“We found several animals that the work wasn’t done [on], and we don’t know whose animals they are,” Limani said. He said police have been receiving complaints about this since 2021.
No charges have been filed, but “it appears there’s most likely a crime,” according to Limani.
Jacob Gibas, of Latrobe, is one of the alleged victims.
In 2021 and 2022, Chesla completed a fish and deer for Gibas. However, Gibas claimed he dropped a deer off in 2024 that was never finished.
He said Chesla told him the deer would be done in a month, but Chesla stopped returning Gibas’ calls after about seven months of back-and-forth.
“Some people, they claimed to wait [for their taxidermy projects] for several years … I don’t have a lot of money tied up in this, other folks got a lot of money involved,” Gibas said.
He said he reported the incident to state police on Tuesday, Jan. 13, and claimed they said it will be 30 days until he receives a call back due to the high volume of reports on this topic.
Police are asking anyone who has paid Forever Ridge Taxidermy but did not receive their projects in the past five years to come forward with information and potentially identify their animals.
This information can be reported to police by calling 724-832-3288.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Your comment has been submitted.

Reported
There was a problem reporting this.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Would you like to receive our daily news? Signup today! 
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
Sorry, an error occurred.

Already Subscribed!

Cancel anytime
Account processing issue – the email address may already exist
Must be at least 8 characters, not contain repeating characters (e.g., 111), and not contain sequential numbers (e.g., 123).
Would you like to receive our high school football scores wrap-up ? Signup today! 
Would you like to receive our daily news? Signup today! 
Want local Mainline area news? Signup today!


Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.

Secure & Encrypted
Must be at least 8 characters, not contain repeating characters (e.g., 111), and not contain sequential numbers (e.g., 123).
Secure transaction. Secure transaction. Cancel anytime.

Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.

source