VAN BUREN, Mo. — Two people have been sentenced for illegally excavating items from Ozark National Scenic Riverways.
41-year-old Shane Munroe has been ordered to serve a year in federal prison followed by three years supervised probation while 45-year-old Christy Bruton has been sentenced to three years supervised probation. Both must also pay $2,000 each in restitution.
US Park Rangers contacted Munroe and Bruton on April 2, 2017 at a primitive campsite at Rymers Campground in the park. They were suspected of excavating, damaging, and altering an archeological site in the area. Munroe and Bruton fled the scene in a pickup truck before flipping the truck and continuing to flee on foot. Rangers and Special Agents of the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch located evidence of extensive excavation and damage at the involved archeological site. They also recovered evidence and artifacts from the campsite and vehicle crash site. Munroe and Bruton later returned to the campsite and were taken into custody.
During the investigation, approximately 150 illegal excavations were located, as well as tools, artifacts, and evidence of other stolen property. A resource damage assessment completed in March 2018 revealed that Munroe and Bruton caused $34,974 in damage to the archeological site.
A federal grand jury handed down indictments for Munroe and Bruton in December 2018. Munroe pleaded guilty in June 2019 to a felony and Bruton pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor ARPA violation in October 2019.
