Arrest made in Utah petroglyph defacement case, feds say

ST. GEORGE, Utah (KSL.com) — An arrest was made in a case involving a defaced petroglyph panel near the Utah-Arizona border last month, the Bureau of Land Management said.

Bureau of Land Management officials confirmed that Daniela Ganassim Ericksen was arrested in St. George on Saturday concerning the case along the Wire Pass Trail in Kane County on Nov. 23. Washington County jail records show she was booked on a federal warrant.

Harry Barber, district manager of the bureau’s Paria River district, said the person is potentially facing “multiple felony counts.” Bureau officials clarified Tuesday that the U.S. Attorney for Utah’s Office is handling the case, but land vandalism cases often result in felony charges tied to the Archeological Resource Protection Act, as well as willful injury or depredation of government property.

“I appreciate that our public likes to get out and use public lands. It’s bothersome when people take things into their own hands and feel like they can do things that are not lawful — in this case, writing their names and/or other things onto a petroglyph panel,” Barber said in a video that the agency uploaded on Monday.

A second person visible in photos that the agency released has also been identified, but authorities are still investigating the person’s involvement before any additional charges could be filed, agency officials told KSL.com on Monday.

Both the Bureau of Land Management and Kane County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the case after deputies received a tip along with photos from a witness who said they saw two people deface some of the petroglyphs near the confluence of Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch, a remote area about 25 miles southwest of Big Water. A $1,000 reward was also offered for information leading to a successful conviction.

Bureau archaeologists consider the trail a “very ancient travel corridor” with images believed to be 3,000 to 5,000 years old during the pre-agricultural Archaic period. While the sites are federally protected, they are also often vandalized. David Hercher, a spokesman for the agency, said the case was the third of its kind in the area within the past year.

However, what made the Nov. 23 case different is that it was caught on camera. Barber said a witness tried to tell the people to stop before taking the photos, adding that the Kane County Sheriff’s Office and Bureau of Land Management law enforcement were able to “put the pieces together” from tips the photos generated.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Ericksen had acquired legal representation in the case.

Meanwhile, archaeologists are looking to repair the damage, which is believed to cost about $7,000. But Hercher said it’s likely the site will never be completely the same, which he explained is an unfortunate reality when it comes to land vandalism cases of sites that are sometimes thousands of years old.

“Vandalism destroys these irreplaceable pieces of history and cultural heritage valuable to Indigenous tribes, historians and local communities alike,” he said. “(It) is not only a crime punishable by law but also a destructive behavior with lasting consequences that can never really be made 100% whole again. It often requires costly restoration efforts, which use financial resources that could otherwise be used for other purposes.”