Missing boater charged with illegal artifacts
By Elizabeth Billips Associate Editor

More than 250 artifacts were discovered in Collins' boat when rangers found him broken down in Brier Creek.

A North Augusta boater who was feared dead is now fearing a jail sentence.

Early Tuesday morning, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) rangers were sent to Brier Creek to look for 50-year-old Steven Wesley Collins.

He'd left home around 6 a.m. Monday morning with plans to be home by dark.

According to rangers, worried family members drove to Thompson Bridge Road late Monday night and became hysterical when they found his truck and trailer still parked there.

Fearing he had drowned and lacking a cell phone signal, Collins' wife knocked on the door of a nearby residence to summon help.

Around 1:30 a.m., rangers were taking information from family members when Collins' 15-foot boat was spotted downstream.

His boat had broken down several miles downriver, they said, and he'd spent more than seven hours pulling, pushing and paddling his way back to the landing.

What could have been a happy homecoming for Collins was spoiled when rangers got a closer look inside his aluminum boat. Next to his diving gear were more than 250 Native American artifacts ranging from ornate pottery pieces to spear points and arrowheads.

He was charged with unlawful collection of artifacts.

While artifact collection is legal on private property in most cases, diving for them in rivers and streams is a misdemeanor, punishable with up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Collins will answer to the charge Sept. 5 in Burke County State Court.

"As far as I'm concerned, this is a very serious crime," State Court Judge Jerry Daniel said.