Two tourists from Colorado, USA, have been accused of trespassing on a historic site in a National Park, from where they are alleged to have stolen government property and archaeological artefacts.
Roxanne McKnight, aged 39, and Dusty Spencer, 43, visited Canyonlands National Park in Utah on 23 March 2024, court documents say. They appear to have been captured on security cameras in images shared by the National Parks Service (NPS) on social media. The stills show a man with a goatee, wearing sunglasses, baggy shorts, a baseball cap and a zip-neck sweater unzipped to the waist, alongside a similarly dressed female companion. They are pictured swigging beer and entering a prohibited area protected by fencing and by warning signs, where they sit on furniture. Reactions on X branded the culprits “scumbags”, “thugs” and “trash humans.”
CHARGED: "Two Colorado residents were charged by misdemeanor information today, alleging they trespassed, disrupted, and stole from the historic Cave Springs Cowboy Camp in Canyonlands National Park, located in the District of Utah.
— 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐞 (@brian_schnee) November 4, 2024
According to court documents, on March 23,… pic.twitter.com/ktPvtJkjYv
A sacred spring, cowboy artefacts and ancient rock carvings
The incursion that caused such outrage was into a former “line camp”, also known as a “buckaroo camp”, where cattle workers used to stay for short periods of time while watching over livestock on government grazing plots. Called “Cave Springs Cowboy Camp”, the shelter takes the form of a cave beneath an overhanging rock on a canyonside. Nearby, natural springs provided a water source. Thought to have seen around 80 years of use from as early as the 1890s, the camp fell into disrepair before the creation of the National Park in the 1960s. It still holds authentic objects left behind by the cowboys.
What’s more, the camp’s fragile porous sandstone walls also boast ancient rock carvings dating back 6,000 years, and its springs are considered sacred by indigenous people who still live in the area.
Old harnesses and antique nails
The camp can be accessed via an easy 1 km loop hike, which includes two ladders. An NPS description of the walk makes it clear that “Entering, touching, or climbing on archeological sites is strictly prohibited.” Visitors are asked to “View structures from a distance” and “Help protect our heritage by not entering the spring.” They are also reminded “Do not touch or mark the rock markings. It is a violation of federal law to deface pictographs.”
Instead of respecting the heritage however, once inside the camp, McKnight and Spencer are alleged to have touched historic items “in a manner that had potential to damage them”, according to the court filing. The pair are said to have removed artefacts from displays, including old harnesses, and to have stolen numerous pieces, reported as “antique nails.”
A press release for the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Utah details that McKnight and Spencer are set to be charged with “theft of government property, less than one thousand dollars; possessing or distributing cultural or archaeological resources; and walking on or entering archaeological or cultural resource.”
They are yet to appear for an initial misdemeanor information hearing, which “will be scheduled for a later date” in the county seat, Moab, the release said.
