It's a quiet spring day on Buckeye Lake. Many families have yet to return for the summer season. But a family of a different kind sailed into the canal near Island Avenue two months ago.
"We'd seen them along the lake, and then in March they showed up in our canal. Everyone was really excited and rushed to feed them," remembers Richard Hill and Gary Preston.
The mute swans quickly set up house, picking a boat slip to build their first nest. But that didn't suit the pair, affectionately named Sam and Samantha by the families living in the area.
The pair moved to another site. This time they picked the fire pit on Jeffrey Gerling's property.
Sam and Samantha were run off and eventually laid their eggs right next to the Gerling's lake home. When anyone tried to get close to the house, the birds attacked.
On April 23, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued a permit allowing for the destruction of the nest and the mother swan. 
"Mute swans are an invasive species to Ohio and North America. Because of the great size they can easily hurt people when they attack. On the east coast there have been documented cases of mute swans attacking and killing people along the waterways. We don't want that happening here and that's why the swan was destroyed," explained ODNR wildlife biologist Gary Ludwig.
But that was of little comfort to the dozens of people who enjoyed the beauty of the waterfowl.
"I don't think you'll find one person out here that will agree with that because just about everyone out here has fed them by hand. We have a bigger problem with dogs," said Hill.
No one answered the door at Gerling's Buckeye Lake home.
Sam, the male mute swan, now sails the lake alone. Neighbors say they'll do whatever it takes to protect him.
