Tourists accused of stealing from Canyonlands historic site will face federal charges

Artifacts left behind from historic cowboy camps at Cave Spring Photo: Neal Herbert / NPS

Roxanne McKnight, 39, and Dusty Spencer, 43, of Durango, Colorado were photographed entering the fenced-off area of the camp where they are being accused of handling and stealing numerous historic artifacts

Two Colorado natives have been hit with misdemeanor charges after they allegedly trespassed, disrupted, and stole from the historic Cave Springs Cowboy Camp in Canyonlands National Park on March 23, 2024.

The Cave Springs Cowboy Camp is a historic site where cowboys used to set up camp. The National Park Service has placed historic furniture and artifacts at the site to help give visitors a look into the past and how those cowboys would have lived. There are also prehistoric rock markings left by Native American tribes, according to the park website.

Roxanne McKnight, 39, and Dusty Spencer, 43, of Durango, Colorado were photographed entering the fenced-off area of the camp where they are being accused of handling and stealing numerous historic artifacts, according to the news release from the US attorney’s office.

Now, both McKnight and Spencer are 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.

McKnight told the Washington Post that the charges came as a “complete shock,” saying she didn’t see any signage prohibiting entrance into the area. She added, “I can say with 100% confidence that I did not take anything from that site,” she says. “In the past, I have been the one telling friends … ‘No, you can’t take that shard, that belongs to the land.’”

The statement from the US attorney’s office said, “This historic camp was protected by fencing and clear warnings prohibiting visitors from entering the area.”

Among the objects allegedly taken by the couple were antique nails, according to court records.

Their initial appearance for the misdemeanor will be scheduled at the US District Court in Moab, Utah.

The attorney’s office noted that until the court decides, all information is merely an allegation, and all defendants will be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

By Heather Bergeson for Nat’l Park Explorer