Agents gather items from Blanding store in stolen Native American artifacts case

BLANDING — Federal agents returned to southeastern Utah Wednesday to collect several items in connection with a stolen Native American artifacts case.

The case has been controversial, resulting in dozens of arrests and three suicides, including the government's undercover informant.

As part of an agreement with the owners of a Blanding rock shop — Dale and Raymond Lyman — federal officials arrived early in the morning to gather some of the artifacts the brothers have in their possession. They also took some dinosaur bones, rocks and stones.

This was a planned investigation. The owners of the shop knew federal agents would be in Blanding Wednesday, and they agreed to let those agents take whatever they needed for the case. It's all part of their court case from the raid that took place in the summer of 2009.

The rock shop owners' sister said just seeing more agents with guns surrounding her brothers' store brought back memories that still haunt the town.

"My brothers have never been grave diggers. They talk like everyone around here is an active grave digger, but they're not," Marcia Shores told KSL-TV in a report broadcast Wednesday.

But federal courts spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch says no one is accusing anyone of grave digging.

To read the rest of the report, visit this link at ksl.com. A photo gallery of the return of items and related stories about the case can also be found with the story online.