McGarnacle
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Three to pay fines in disturbance of graves at C&O Canal park
http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=161363&format=html
by DAVID DISHNEAU / Associated Press Writer
Three men must pay the National Park Service about $6,100 as restitution for an illegal treasure hunt that included disturbing a 19th-century grave in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, officials said Tuesday.
The men dug 25 to 30 holes last April in a search for metal and jewelry they thought had been buried with the remains of Mary Ohr in 1875, said Leigh Zahm, a park ranger. They didn't find any jewelry but they caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to the grave and the grounds of a homestead just west of Hancock, Zahm said.
Ohr was married to Dr. Charles H. Ohr, a mayor of Cumberland, Md., from 1859-1866 who also served several years in the Maryland Senate, Zahm said. The would-be grave robbers targeted her grave, which is surrounded by a wrought-iron fence, because of its ornate decorations and large headstone, he said.
Illegal metal-detecting in national parks is fairly common but "it's very rare that these incidents come to such a successful conclusion," Zahm said. "Ninety percent of the time, we're collecting evidence but we can never identify who the suspects are."
He said the park service paid a $1,000 reward for information that led to the arrests in August of Christopher W. Pelchat, 24, Jonathan K. Carroll, 29, and Carroll's father James A. Carroll, 53. The young men, who dug up the grave, pleaded guilty before a federal magistrate at Fort Detrick to violating the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and were ordered to make restitution of $2,569 each. They also were sentenced to one year of probation and 25 hours of community service, and were banned for two years from any National Park Service site.
James Carroll pleaded guilty to digging cultural or archaeological resources and was ordered to pay about $1,016 to the park. His lawyer, Martin H. Schreiber, said all three used metal detectors in the park but "the two boys took off on their own and left Mr. Carroll behind when they went up to dig the grave."
Zahm said Jonathan Carroll and Pelchat both wrote letters apologizing for their actions.
http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=161363&format=html
by DAVID DISHNEAU / Associated Press Writer
Three men must pay the National Park Service about $6,100 as restitution for an illegal treasure hunt that included disturbing a 19th-century grave in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, officials said Tuesday.
The men dug 25 to 30 holes last April in a search for metal and jewelry they thought had been buried with the remains of Mary Ohr in 1875, said Leigh Zahm, a park ranger. They didn't find any jewelry but they caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to the grave and the grounds of a homestead just west of Hancock, Zahm said.
Ohr was married to Dr. Charles H. Ohr, a mayor of Cumberland, Md., from 1859-1866 who also served several years in the Maryland Senate, Zahm said. The would-be grave robbers targeted her grave, which is surrounded by a wrought-iron fence, because of its ornate decorations and large headstone, he said.
Illegal metal-detecting in national parks is fairly common but "it's very rare that these incidents come to such a successful conclusion," Zahm said. "Ninety percent of the time, we're collecting evidence but we can never identify who the suspects are."
He said the park service paid a $1,000 reward for information that led to the arrests in August of Christopher W. Pelchat, 24, Jonathan K. Carroll, 29, and Carroll's father James A. Carroll, 53. The young men, who dug up the grave, pleaded guilty before a federal magistrate at Fort Detrick to violating the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and were ordered to make restitution of $2,569 each. They also were sentenced to one year of probation and 25 hours of community service, and were banned for two years from any National Park Service site.
James Carroll pleaded guilty to digging cultural or archaeological resources and was ordered to pay about $1,016 to the park. His lawyer, Martin H. Schreiber, said all three used metal detectors in the park but "the two boys took off on their own and left Mr. Carroll behind when they went up to dig the grave."
Zahm said Jonathan Carroll and Pelchat both wrote letters apologizing for their actions.
