FBI investigating Rush County home for artifact - TopicsExpress



          

FBI investigating Rush County home for artifact collection Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on gmail Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services 128 Updated: Apr 02, 2014 5:54 PM EDT By Jeremy Brilliant - bio | email RUSH COUNTY, Ind. - The FBI says a 91-year-old Indiana man who collected thousands of archeological artifacts over his lifetime may have acquired some of them improperly. At a news conference Wednesday, the FBI could not say if Donald Miller would face charges for his collection in Waldron. Dozens of agents were at Millers farm to collect and process the artifacts. It happened in Waldron, a classic, quiet, one-stoplight Indiana town. We had no idea what was going on, said Joe Runnebohm, who runs H & R Water Systems Plumbing in Waldron. I was really surprised. Not the kind of place youd expect to see dozens of FBI agents, special military-style tents, specialized equipment and a command post that would put some small town police stations to shame. The focus of their investigation is 91-year-old Donald Miller and his massive collection of Native American and other artifacts. It was pretty neat stuff. I was really interested in looking at all of it, said Runnebohm. He saw the collection while working on the plumbing at Millers house. He said Miller was proud to show it off. He had a head with an arrowhead stuck in it, like a skull and all kinds of Indian artifacts from arrowheads to hatchets to peace pipes to just anything, explained Runnebohm. Outside, near the front door, we saw statues that appeared to be from the Far East. Several people in Waldron said the house was like a museum, that school groups and Scout troops would go on regular tours. The FBI has around 100 agents at the farm and they say it could take them up to a week to figure out what all the artifacts are. Theyve brought in a team of outside experts: archeologists and anthropologists to help. Then, there is the collector himself. He has been very cooperative at this point. And I think the goal here again is to identify those items, see if they belong elsewhere and were going to work very closely with him to make that happen, said Special Agent Paul Bresson, an FBI spokesman. The collection that took 80 years put together will be dismantled piece by piece
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 23:26:32 +0000

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