Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

$2.5 mil. claim filed against grave looter

CARSON CITY -- The Bureau of Land Management has filed a $2.5 million claim against an Oregon man found guilty of looting artifacts from a cave in the Black Rock Desert in Northern Nevada.

BLM Director Ann Morgan said the stiff punishment is to "send a strong message that archaeological looting will not be tolerated."

The civil assessment was imposed against Jack Harelson, who was sentenced to 18 months in jail and fined $20,000 for being in possession of artifacts at his home in Grants Pass, Ore.

Harelson, according to federal officials, excavated an archaeological site north of Winnemucca from 1980 to 1984. He removed hundreds of artifacts and the remains of two Indian children that have been radiocarbon dated to be more than 2,000 years old.

The artifacts and corpses have been returned to Nevada and are being held in the state museum until the civil case is completed.

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