Two California tourists were arrested and charged after a woolly mammoth tusk, estimated to be 10,000 years old and valued at $200,000, was smashed at the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum on March 8. Brett Howard, 46, and Todd Azevedo, 48, both of Petaluma, California, were each booked on one count of first-degree property damage before being released on $15,000 bail apiece. If convicted, they each face up to four years in prison, according to the New York Post.
One of the men allegedly climbed onto the other’s shoulders
A museum employee monitoring security cameras around 10:50 a.m. saw two men at the display just before the impact. Investigators say one of the men allegedly climbed onto the other’s shoulders to reach the tusk, which weighed about 200 pounds (90 kilograms), causing it to fall and shatter into multiple pieces. One man was attempting to hang on the tusk.
When the employee tried to make contact, the pair fled the scene. They were apprehended later that evening. Taney County Sheriff Brad Daniels called the tusk a unique, practically irreparable find and an “irreplaceable loss,” adding that “such artifacts cannot be replaced.”
“This is a one-of-a-kind artifact, there is no other one like it. Although there are still some large pieces, many parts have been shattered and cannot be fully restored. It’s unbelievable that adults would behave like this,” he added.