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February 18, 2005
Death Valley theft ring taken down
By ROBIN FLINCHUM While on a routine patrol in Death Valley National Park in 2001, Ranger Todd Garrett observed a vehicle parked in an odd location. With a pair of binoculars he watched from a distance until its owners returned, carrying two Native American grinding stones. Garrett cited the artifact hunters and let them go, but something about it bothered him. He brought it to the attention of his superiors, and they brought to the attention of theirs. The subsequent two-year investigation resulted in the breakup of a major theft ring that had been operating in the American Southwest for 10 years, and the recovery of more than 11,000 American Indian artifacts from the Great Basin region, according to the NPS. It also resulted in federal prison sentences for several of the thieves. Former Death Valley archaeologist Tim Canaday was among those recognized by the DOI with its Department of Interior Conservation Service Award for his part in the investigation. And the small, independent local organizations are not without their own resources for combating the robbery of their community memories and treasures. Next month, some 20 regional museums and historical societies from counties all around Death Valley National Park will gather to put their collective heads together and tighten security. After the devastating Christmas day theft of valuable American Indian artifacts and antique dolls from a small community museum in Daggett, Calif., near Barstow, word spread quickly among other local museums and historical societies. When the information reached Kari Coughlin, Director of the Shoshone Museum in Shoshone, 20 miles west of Pahrump, it occurred to her that alone, her museum was somewhat vulnerable. But if she joined forces with others in the same boat - small community organizations with a lot of enthusiasm but very little money - they could come up with ideas that would help them all get stronger. Coughlin is organizing a meeting to be held probably in early March, she said. Representatives from nearly 20 historical societies and museums from San Bernardino, Inyo, Kern, Nye and Esmeralda counties have expressed interest in attending. "We're hoping to bring in a speaker from the FBI, an alarm consultant, and other experts," Coughlin said. "This will also give us a chance to discuss other issues of interest to us all and collaborate on regional projects." The Daggett theft motivated several local museums to improve their security measures. Terry Baldino, spokesman for the Death Valley National Park Service, said the NPS finally installed an additional alarm on its museum. "We'd been talking about it for years but that reminded us to just get it done." The Shoshone Museum took down a display of antique dolls and returned them to their owners ahead of schedule, since the Daggett thieves had included dolls on their "shopping list/ Shoshone also removed several other valuable items to more secure storage facilities, and has posted in prominent locations photos of suspected museum thieves Coughlin received via the Internet. Harry Ford of the Pahrump Valley Historical Society and Museum said he has not taken any additional precautions because the Pahrump building was already outfitted with a strong security system. "It has a really loud alarm that isn't connected to the electricity. It alerts the alarm company, but it's also loud enough to wake me up at my house not far away." If someone breaks into the museum, Ford said, he'd know about it. Even so, Ford said he would attend the museum security consortium meeting when a date is set. "Two heads are always better than one. I'm interested in learning what other people are doing," he said. In Daggett, the museum is now only giving tours by appointment. Museum Director Leslie Lloyd said she believed the thieves had visited the museum beforehand and made detailed observations of its security system. "They cut the phone wires and sprayed foam insulation over what they thought were motion sensors," Lloyd said. Ironically, the small museum's alarm system was not even activated at the time. The thieves made away with several valuable Indian baskets and pieces of pottery, one of which was valued at $3,500, Lloyd said. They also cleaned 19 antique or collectable dolls out of a display case containing a total of 28. "They knew what they wanted," Lloyd said. Other stolen items included a Navajo ceremonial sash and some pocket change from Lloyd's desk, as well as a case of points and spearheads. A detailed list of the stolen items is available from the Daggett Museum and has been reported to an organization called Antique Tribal Arts Dealers, Lloyd said. For more information about the Museum Security Consortium, contact Kari Coughlin at (760) 852-4414. |
