TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - Authorities say two men have been sentenced to community service for taking artifacts from an 1886 shipwreck near Traverse City.
Divers tipped off investigators last summer to the theft of wood ribbing from the Metropolis, which was abandoned in a snowstorm in Grand Traverse Bay. Some portions of the 125-foot schooner are accessible in 8 feet of water.
The Department of Natural Resources says Jacob Garris of Traverse City and Joseph Frawley of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, were recently sentenced to 20 hours of community service. They also must pay about $2,500 in fines and restitution. The shipwreck timber has been recovered.
Wayne Lusardi, a state maritime archaeologist, says “shipwrecks are irreplaceable resources.”
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