Alert: Looking For Stolen Dino Bones!

[Oh-Man]

Last month a field trip trailor on the property of the Proctor museum in east Houston was stolen.

It had several plaster wrapped dino bones (likely hadrosaurs as I understand it) in it. If anyone sees them come into the market please let me know. We think the trailor was just stolen for the "trailor" but if anything else shows up we'd appreciate the group keeping their eyes open!

Thanks!

Oh-man

[Phoenixflood]

Last month a field trip trailor on the property of the Proctor museum in east Houston was stolen.

It had several plaster wrapped dino bones (likely hadrosaurs as I understand it) in it. If anyone sees them come into the market please let me know. We think the trailor was just stolen for the "trailor" but if anything else shows up we'd appreciate the group keeping their eyes open!

Thanks!

Oh-man

I'll keep my eyes out!

Do you know which exact bones they were and do you have any pictures of them?

[32fordboy]

Bump. Hopefully it'll turn up. I'm doubtful ,though. Check eBay for a while. Someone probably thinks they're going to be millionaires. Of course, if they do post on eBay, it'll be quite a while from now.

Nick

Edited October 28, 2009 by 32fordboy

[fig rocks]

Sorry to hear about that Nick, hopefully you'll recover them successfully! :notfair:

[32fordboy]

By the way, any specifics as far as photos, dimensions, etc will help. I've seen probably 95% of the fossils posted on eBay within the last year and I hope to keep up with the daily ritual. It might turn up there several months from now.

Nick

[Seldom]

Bump. Hopefully it'll turn up. I'm doubtful ,though. Check eBay for a while. Someone probably thinks they're going to be millionaires. Of course, if they do post on eBay, it'll be quite a while from now.

Nick

I don't know Nick a friend had about 40 grand of artifacts stolen and they showed up on eBay in less the two weeks he got most of them back and the bad guys got time. Some of these guys are not real smart. I think everyone should watch craigslist in there area it has became a warehouse for stolen goods.

[32fordboy]

You do have a point. If they are stealing instead of spending their time doing something useful, they must be pretty dumb to begin with.

[Oh-Man]

Here's a pic.

THe bones were just wrapped in canvas and duct tape and hadn't been prepped so I'd guess they ended in the trash.

Hadrosaur... since dinos are kind of rare in TX even though hadrosaurs aren't it'd be nice to get it back!

Thanks!

[MikeD]

I'll add this email from Terry in hopes that it helps.

Thanks for the email from each of you. I have attached three photos @ 750 pixels wide. #1 is of the trailer; #2 is the Hadrosaurus in situ where I started digging it up (there were about 40 or better packets with the bones in aluminum foil, then wrapped in duct tape, with a pink label showing where in the dig they were located; and #3 two packets of the bones showing what they looked like when wrapped up.

The bones were heavily encrusted with iron oxide and the bone inside was often somewhat crumbly. There were a number of other packets of bones also from the same Ranch and wrapped for the most part in similar fashion, with labels as to the Ranch, age and what they were. There were a number of heavy grape or fruit boxes with the tabs which stick up so they can be stacked and locked together. These had agates and other rocks and minerals in them. I built a four drawer (plastic drawers) 3/4" exterior plywood cabinet with about 1" aluminum angles on all corners, which had a about 1/4" or 3/8" rod (the type you drive to ground electricity) running from a hole in the top to a hole in the bottom of the front, which locked the drawers in while traveling. It was very well made and contained first aid, knives, tools, supplies (Coleman lantern, trailer lights and small parts, just a lot of things. It also had a tent, large tools (strapped in with bungee cords), lots of extra bungee cords, Coleman lanterns, supplies like paper towels, kneeling pads, shovels, an aluminum tool box (with the X type raised finish--like people working in plants have in their trucks) which contained Plaster of Paris, burlap, digging tools, cooking pans and many other items). The floors had horse trailer matting and some rubber mats with curled up edges maybe 3" to 4" high in case of something spilling. There were plastic containers with some of the bones and agate, rocks etc. The Trailer had a supposedly uncutable cable through the wheels (which had holes in the rims) and a ball locked into the tongue so that it supposedly could not be towed.

I will continue to think of other things. The trailer had a roll-up UPS type of door in back and a side door with a heavy padlock. The floor was exterior plywood painted gray, but covered with the horse trailer mats. The walls had rings I had installed, into which the bungee cords could be hooked, put around things, and hooked into another ring. There was a shelf in front on which the papergoods, bungee cords, and lighter things were placed.

The bones for the most part are Eastern Montana Cretaceous Hadrosaurus bones and some fossilized wood. I am considering offering a reward for information on the trailer and especially on the contents, which because of their nature, although economically perhaps of not great worth, represented several weeks of Terry B and I digging in Montana, Nebraska (there were also some Oligocene fossils from there) in the hot sun, in order to have them to display in our FREE museum. Since the museum is FREE for 20 years, it has no money for a reward, but I hope to have some funds before long to offer a reward. Hopefully people in our avocation simply know the importance of getting things collected back and will help without need of a reward, but I will try to come up with something.

Thanks for your offer of help. The bones from Montana for the most part are in pretty good shape and darker brown. Most are separate bones or pieces of the same bone, wrapped together, except for the Hadrosaurus vertebrae and ribs, shown in situ in the photo, which as I said represented about 40 to 50 packets, after being dug. The bones from Nebraska are more crumbly and are white, but were similarly wrapped.

Many of the bones were also in Zip-Lock bags, some of which were then put into the plastic tubs in the Trailer, some in other plastic and other containers. Most all had the little paper tags showing the number of the trip, the location where found, the age, what they were and were a printed form with this information filled in, including the date found.

If you have the lead on someone wanting to sell the trailer, check with the person and see if the trailer looked like this one, and if so, if they have information on the seller.

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU.

TERRY PROCTOR, 2009 PRESIDENT, HOUSTON GEM & MINERAL SOCIETY http://www.hgms.org and

Chairman, Curator and General Counsel, PROCTOR MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE, INC. (a Texas 'not for profit' corporation and IRS 501c3 organization)

Terrell William Proctor, J.D. c/o T. W. PROCTOR & ASSOCIATES, 630 Uvalde Road, Houston, Texas 77015-3766; (713) 453-8338 FAX (713) 453-3232 Email auraman@swbell.net Websites: www.terryco.us www.terrylaw.us www.proctormuseum.us www.wellduh.us

http://www.proctormuseum.us

[32fordboy]

Thanks for the details. I just found a site called allofcraigs.com that searches all of the cities in Craigslist. That might prove useful.

Nick

[BobC]

well before we can scour Craigslist and EBAY and like sites, my first question would be this: Would the thief even know enough to call the remains a Hadrosaur? To do a comprehensive search on the internet, you need to know what terms are likely to be used by the thief. Are the circumstances of the theft reflective of a person who had familiarity with paleontology or the Proctor Museum? Did robbing this trailer reflect an insider's knowledge of the facility? If so, I'd look at employees first. If the trailer was just out on the street, it could have been anyone--which will make solving the case more difficult . A dummy off the street will probably try to sell it as a "dinosaur skull" or just "fossil," rather than a Hadrosaur skull. An knowledgeable insider will probably use "Hadrosaur" when trying to sell it online.

I would do an online search of fossil dealers, and watch their sites for this skull to appear. I would NOT alert the dealers ahead of time because if they are unscrupulous, they will lie and hide it. if this fossil is sold ACROSS STATE LINES, it becomes a federal Crime and the FBI can be called in, FYI.

[32fordboy]

I was wondering the same thing, but if the paper tags state all that info, the thieves have everything they need to know. Man, this really sucks. I have no compassion for thieves-to me it's right up there with murder.

Edited October 29, 2009 by 32fordboy

[Seldom]

I was wondering the same thing, but if the paper tags state all that info, the thieves have everything they need to know. Man, this really sucks. I have no compassion for thieves-to me it's right up there with murder.

Anyone stealing from a non-profit need to be hung Like the losers that stole that trailer and camping equipment from the Boy Scouts in Houston last year

Good link Nick Thanks

[MikeD]

The trailer was outdoors, but was locked down with "uncuttable" cable (which apparently can be).

[BobC]

hmmmm--that tells me it's probably a pretty sophisticated thief, someone who probably makes his living that way---if the cable was that strong. Most petty thieves don't have that kind of equipment--shows that the thief has done his research. I guess my other question would be this--was it clear that that trailer was part of the museum? It'll help to know if the person knew what he was probably going to find in that trailer, or if it was just some career burglar types.

This sucks, by the way.

[RJB]

I really do hope you get both the trailor and the bones back. I really do hate theifs with a PASSION!!!!

RB

[Bear]

..I have no compassion for thieves-to me it's right up there with murder..

In these parts they often go hand in hand. Also, most of the local punk kid thieves have access to that type of bolt cutter. They were likely hoping for a trailer full of tools, not old rocks.