Hello all, I was just getting curious as to the status of this whole situation. Has anyone at all heard anything? I recently spoke with some of the people involved in finding the bell missing and I learned a few things that may be interesting. Both the bells from the Gov. Smith and the other wreck mentioned (the Detroit) weigh somewhere between 150 and 250 pounds. That is somewhat of a large difference I realize, but that is an approximate quess made on the weight based on their relative size and manufacture material.
This means that not any normal person would have been able to recover such a heavy item. First off, these were deep wrecks, deep enough that only a Tech diver, or team of Tech divers would have even been able to go there. But when you factor in the weight, there would have had to have been at least a few people involved in the recovery of either of the Bells. This means that SOMEONE has to know SOMETHING about the Bell.
One other thing that has been going around lately is that there were a group of people that were working with the state and the government to officially bring up the bell, and restore it so that it could be placed in a meuseum for everyone to see. Thanks to whoever stole these bells, now nobody will be able to see them. People will have the memories who have been there already, but people like me will never be able to go and see this bell as it sat, or even in the presered state of a meuseum. My worst fear in this situation is that whoever stole the bell may have melted it down, and sold it for scrap, or broken it up and sold it for scrap. Or worse, they are hordeing it for themselves as a trophy of some sort.
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK ONCE AGAIN, IF WHOEVER HAS EITHER OF THESE BELLS WOULD LIKE TO DO THE DIVING COMMUNITY A FAVOR AND CONTRIBUTE SOMETHING OTHER THAN THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF HEARING THAT ARTIFACTS ARE BEING STOLEN FROM PLACES MANY PEOPLE HAVE YET TO EXPLORE, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THEM TO PLEASE CONTACT ME AND I WOULD BE WILLING TO MEET YOU IN A PUBLIC PLACE, AND TAKE TEMPORARY POSSESSION OF THE BELL AND RETURN IT TO THE PEOPLE WHO CAN RESTORE THE BELL TO ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE.
I know that the group who was working on getting permission to recover the bell for a meuseum spent a very long time and a lot of hours doing this, and many years working on getting the proper permits to do this. From what I understand they are all extremely disappointed in the events that have unfolded since this time, and they would all, as well as all the poeple who would like to see these bells, but who can not for various reasons would like to see them returned. This is why I have made the offer I have, and I will hold to it.
