DETROIT, Michigan (29 August 2006) -- Department of Natural Resources law enforcement officials today announced a $500 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the removal of the ship's bell from the City of Detroit shipwreck located in Lake Huron. On July 30, local divers informed Conservation Officer Scott Brown that they had returned from diving on the shipwreck City of Detroit and wanted to report the bell missing. Built in 1866, the wooden steamship worked the Great Lakes for only seven years, hauling mostly flour and wheat from Wisconsin to Ontario. In December 1873, a late-season storm sent the City of Detroit to the bottom of Lake Huron near Saginaw Bay. After resting on the bottom unknown for 125 years, the shipwreck was discovered in June 1999 by David Trotter and his crew aboard the Obsession II. Since then, the City of Detroit has been a popular recreational dive site. Clearly visible on one side of her bell is the name, "NOVELTY WORKS," and the other side states "NEW YORK 1844." Taking of artifacts from the bottomlands of the state without permit is a violation of state law. Under the Aboriginal Records and Antiquities Part 761, punishment of up to $2,000 or imprisonment of one year can be ordered by the courts. The bell has enormous historical value and shipwreck antiquity thefts are difficult criminal cases to develop and prosecute, and most begin with tips from the public. Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact the DNR's Report All Poaching hotline at (800) 292-7800 or Sgt. Jann E. Gallagher at the Law Enforcement Bay City District Office at (989) 684-9141. SOURCE - Michigan Department of Natural Resources CDNN Related NewsPALAU - Scuba looters go to jailPALAU - Scuba looters pay $40,000 after stealing war wreck artifactsPALAU - Scuba looters charged with stealing artifactsFRANCE - HMT Lancastria shipwreck protected from scuba lootersUK - Government protects 17th century shipwreck from scuba lootersUSA - Scuba diver wants Germany to pay for gyrocompass he looted from U-853 subTHAILAND - Royal Navy's last 'human torpedoes' tracked downALASKA - 'Abandon Shipwreck Act' aims to protect wrecks from scuba lootersFLORIDA - Key West scuba diver busted for looting Red Sea shipwreck in 1994MALTA - British diver fined for stealing shipwreck artifactUSA - Threat of jail time, fines forced scuba diving grave robbers to turn over lootMALTA - First ever prosecution of alleged underwater thievesCANADA - Stuggling to protect historic shipwrecks from scuba thievesNORTH CAROLINA - Scuba thieves will pilfer shipwreck say expertsUSA - Feds bust Boston Sea Rovers for stealing shipwreck artifactsNORTH CAROLINA - Scuba thieves plunder rare unspoiled sub wreckMICHIGAN - BUSTED: Shipwreck thief ordered to return artifactsAUSTRALIA - Diver returns historic shipwreck's missing bellUK - Legal fight aims to protect war wreck from scuba diversVANUATU - Scuba thieves busted with stolen WWII munitions | | Liars and looters Leigh Bishop and Brad Sheard. Following the lead of dive industry-endorsed shipwreck looters Bishop and Sheard, scuba diving thieves around the world are destroying wrecks for bragging rights, coffee table displays and internet auction profits that amount to a fraction of the revenue shipwrecks can generate as fully protected underwater museums. FROM THE EDITORS OF CDNN Despite dive industry 'take pictures, leave only bubbles' green-wash, a small but strident group of scuba diving looters steal artifacts from shipwrecks under the guise of 'archaeological exploration', and aggressively compete for bragging rights, product endorsements and profits from the sales of stolen artifacts that are now on a par with those from smuggling humans and drugs. "We do not care about Leigh Bishop and Brad Sheard's personality problems, their hate-mongering web sites, their chat room shenanigans nor their crude attempts to blackmail responsible, eco-friendly dive companies that support full protection of marine wildlife and shipwrecks," said CDS President Evan T. Allard. "Such unscrupulous conduct is beneath contempt and serves only to substantiate accusations that Bishop and Sheard have committed crimes and will continue to do so unless authorities step in." "The fact is that the vast majority of the global scuba diving community opposes shipwreck looting and underwater grave robbing, and with good reason," Allard added. "For scuba divers, every shipwreck is an underwater museum to be fully protected for our children, our grandchildren and all future generations of divers who will dive deeper and longer thanks to ongoing improvements in diving technology ," Allard said. CYBER DIVER ALERT | If you have information pertaining to the theft and/or sale of wreck artifacts, or desecration of underwater grave sites by Leigh Bishop, Brad Sheard, organized crime gangs or anyone else, please contact CDNN immediately and your information will be passed along to appropriate authorities. REPORT SCUBA LOOTER |
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