Arrowheads stolen from S. Utah museum

St. George police are investigating a heist from a museum of pioneer history artifacts.

In a midday burglary on Tuesday, the thieves walked past volunteers at the McQuarrie Memorial Museum with a collection of American Indian arrowheads.

"These Indian artifacts, there's people out there who want them to sell," said Jeniene Hamelwright, the museum's director. "The police have notified pawn shops."

Police said the men walked into the museum about 12:15 p.m., wandering through the rooms and looking at the exhibits.

"They came in and signed in, we think under assumed names," Hamelwright told the Deseret Morning News on Wednesday. "They just wanted to wander around, so our ladies did not go downstairs with them."

In the museum's basement are collections of ancient American Indian artifacts.

"They were beautifully arranged. They were just hanging on the wall," Hamelwright said. "Most of our things are locked up, but those weren't."

Museum officials said the thieves grabbed the framed displays and hid them under a cloth. They walked out a basement door, passing by a woman working on an office computer who was unaware they were stealing.

The thieves could have made a clean getaway, but Hamelwright said one of the men came back.

"He said, 'I forgot my hat,"' and headed downstairs again, Hamelwright said.

The doors are equipped with security alarms, and it was then that one of the volunteers heard the beep of a door ajar. She came downstairs and confronted the man, who inquired about a group tour and quickly left. It was then the volunteer noticed the theft.

"They saw the two men carrying them out and putting it in a car," St. George Police Sgt. Craig Harding said. "They called police."

Police are checking for fingerprints the thieves may have left behind. Harding said they have a few leads but declined to say if they have identified any suspects. Hamelwright said she believes the men were at the museum last week, perhaps casing things.

The arrowheads are valued at more than $8,000.

Hamelwright said they are looking at changes in security for the museum, which has been operated by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers since 1938.

The DUP's valuable collections of Utah historical artifacts have made tempting targets for thieves before. In April 2006, the Utah Department of Public Safety made a series of arrests in connection with a heist of rare Mormon books and medals worth more than $1 million from the DUP museum on Utah's Capitol Hill.

Anyone with information on these latest thefts is asked to call St. George police at 435-634-5001.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com