After confessing to unlawfully excavating a Native American archeological site in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest and removing human skeletal remains, a Quitman lady was given a four-year probationary term.
For excavating and removing archeological materials, including human skeletal remains, from public land at a known Native American site, 43-year-old Kristy Loree Gordon received a four-year probationary term.
The punishment was handed down Tuesday by U.S. District Judge D.P. Marshall Jr. and was announced by Jonathan D. Ross, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
On June 6, 2023, Gordon was charged with one count of excavating, removing, destroying, and otherwise changing and defacing an archaeological resource on public lands by a federal grand jury. She admitted to the accusation on March 13, 2025.
Ross said in a press release that after an investigation, the Stone County Sheriff’s Office was notified on November 19, 2020, that hikers may have found human bone remains in the vicinity of Pouge Springs in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest.
Gordon informed deputies and U.S. Forest Service investigators that she and another hiker had used a stick to dig into moist soil and possibly find human skeletal remains off a route. She claimed to have called the police and covered them with dirt.
Officers noticed numerous holes drilled and substantial excavation in the area. They were accompanied by an archaeologist from the U.S. Forest Service who stated that no excavation permits had been obtained and that the site was recognized to be Native American. Skeletal remains, including a partial skull, tools, and tool fragments were gathered after the scene was processed.
A few days later, Gordon acknowledged lying in her initial written statement after speaking with Forest Service officials. In a second statement, she said that after learning it was a favorable location, she visited the site to dig for relics. She acknowledged that she dug 1.5 feet below the surface and discovered bones, which she took home.
Gordon claimed that she discovered she had a human skull when washing the bones. Before informing police enforcement of the find, she claimed to have brought the skull back to the location, covered it with earth, and prayed over it.
Officers discovered a sizable collection of Native American items, including an antiquated knife, during a search of Gordon’s house. The knife was classified by Forest Service officials as a funerary instrument, which means that it was presumably put with the bones as part of a ceremony or rite of dying. Gordon acknowledged that she had taken the knife out of the remains. As proof, the knife and other items were gathered. Outside her house, where she claimed to have cleaned the bones, a piece of a skull was also discovered.
Gordon shared pictures of human remains, including a half skull, with others on the day she called the Stone County Sheriff’s Office, according to a warrant that investigators acquired for her Facebook account.
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 provides protection for Native American remains and funeral items. Gordon agreed to pay $16,135.32 in compensation for the site’s restoration and repairs as part of her plea deal.
With assistance from the Stone County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Forest Service carried out the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin O. Leary prosecuted the case.
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