A man in Terrero, New Mexico was recently charged for digging up a roadside memorial that he mistook for a clue in Fenn's publicity-stunt scavenger hunt.
The memorial -- known locally as a descanso or resting place -- is the kind typically placed at the site of fatal car crashes to commemorate the victims.
The marker also happened to be near the entrance of hunting land owned by the state Game Commission.
The treasure hunter was found digging some 45 centimeters (18 inches) below the small metal cross when a game warden stopped and booked him.
According to the Santa Fe New Mexican:
[T]he man, who wasn’t identified, will be charged under a state law making it a misdemeanor to “excavate, injure, destroy or remove any cultural resource or artifact” on State Game Commission land.
The warden added that even if the inconsiderate digger "had found Fenn’s treasure, he could not have kept it because state law prevents taking artifacts from state land. He said the same rules would probably apply to most federal land."
Sounds like the author is Jealous of Fenn.
ReplyDeleteJust how does a game warden "book" someone?
ReplyDeleteI don't think they're trained to do that.
Don't know what part of earth your from, but our game wardens carry side arms and shotguns and are officers of the state fully capable to ticket or arrest as true of all states within the US.
DeleteMrEthiopain
I am a game warden, and do not carry a sidearm or shotgun. However, no one is really interested in my games: Stratego, Twister, Find the Pickle in Uncle Poopsie's Pants... No one likes games anymore :(
ReplyDeleteI'm tired of those "roadside memorials" ..... when did America start mourning like a third world country ?
ReplyDeletewhen we became one due to illegal immigration.
DeleteI think your tinfoil hat's on too tight.
Deletei hate those roadside memorials.
DeleteI agree, the deceased has a grave, go morn there. Last time I checked, the roadside belongs to the State, not the deceased's relatives or friends. Eventually there'll be a cross every 6 inches along every road in America.
DeleteSoooo... you can put up a stupid cross on state land but can't dig a hole??? yeah that makes perfect sense.
ReplyDeleteWe started mourning like a third world country, when we allowed ourselves to be invaded by illegals from third world countries that refuse to assimilate. If their country is so bad and ours is so great, why turn our country into the one they left instead of appreciating it for what it is?
ReplyDeleteAmen!
DeleteRefuse to assimilate? Congratulations! You're both stupid!
DeleteAmerica....the only country in the world that makes you prove you have insurance, but doesn't make you prove you are a citizen.
ReplyDeleteAmerica....the only country that provides free health care to illegal aliens--by making the citizens pay for it!
Both quotes by Ben Stein
artifact, any object a game warden thinks is valuable and keeps for himself...
ReplyDelete"Cultural Resource", anything you say it is...
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThen the number of Irish & Italian illegals must be growing too.
I'm a game warden and I dig these roadside memorials up all the time. If people want a memorial to someone dead they should by a plot in a graveyard. They clutter the roadside and are an eyesore.
ReplyDeleteI find it hilarious that garbage on the side of the road is litter but if someone died there it's a memorial.
ReplyDeleteIt's all garbage to me and should be removed as such.
who are you people
ReplyDeleteSad, angry, and lonely people.
DeleteRead section 12B of that law, and use it as your defense. It always works, if you have enough time and want to fight it in court.
ReplyDeletethese roadside memorials have never bothered me, in fact it's nice to see so many people who would put effort into your memory.
ReplyDeleteThe state has to protect them because they make money off of it, you have to buy a permit to place one
ReplyDeleteI agree, the deceased has a grave, go morn there. Last time I checked, the roadside belongs to the State, not the deceased's relatives or friends. Eventually there'll be a cross every 6 inches along every road in America.
ReplyDelete