Reward offered for artifacts stolen from Weedon Island center
Article published on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 |
ST. PETERSBURG - The Friends of Weedon Island Inc. is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the return of three bone artifacts stolen from the exhibit gallery display at the Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center about two weeks ago.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Friends of Weedon Island at 727-347-0083.
Three artifacts were stolen from the Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center in St. Petersburg sometime over the weekend of June 21-22. Staff noticed the items missing on the afternoon of Monday, June 23. Deputies assigned to the Sheriff's Office Environmental Lands Unit responded to the report of stolen items on Tuesday, June 24.
The stolen items, described as two deer bone pins and a fossilized bone ornamental plummet, were protected behind a clear plastic display. According to deputies, the suspect cut or loosened the screws holding the small clear plastic display window and reached between the plastic and the backboard to remove the items. The exact value of the items is unknown.
The artifacts are local treasures, said Dr. Bruce Rinker, the director of Environmental Management’s Environmental Lands Division, who issued a plea to museum supporters to be alert to attempts to sell the artifacts.
“Layered on top of the cultural importance of these artifacts and their rarity is their value to our understanding of a native people whose type site is the Weedon Island Preserve. This theft is directly linked to a number of local, state and federal laws that protect such artifacts for the public good,” said Rinker. “Such items belong to our children and our children’s children, not to someone who steals from an education center. Hopefully, this outpouring of concern from our Friends will help with the return of the artifacts.”
Managed by the Pinellas County Department of Environmental Management’s Environmental Lands Division, Weedon Island Preserve protects more than 3,700 acres of natural ecosystems and is located at 1800 Weedon Drive N.E. in St. Petersburg. The Preserve is open to the public seven days a week and offers many outdoor activities. In the Preserve, the Cultural and Natural History Center welcomes visitors from Wednesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Center features the new, permanent exhibit, Connecting People and Place, which is an art-inspired, hands-on educational approach to the area’s history, ecology and people.
The Center also holds a wide range of programs and events for people of all ages. To register for these programs, please call 727-453-6500. For more information on Weedon Island Preserve and Pinellas County’s Environmental Lands Division, call 727-453-6900 or visit www.pinellascounty.org/environment.
For more information about Pinellas County and its events, visit www.pinellascounty.org.
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Article published on Tuesday, July 8, 2008
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