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Thief swipes gold miner’s dredge bucket from Alaska museum

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – University of Alaska Fairbanks police are looking for a thief with a strong back.

Someone made off with a dredge bucket, a 200-pound outdoor exhibit at the University of Alaska Museum of the North.

Fairbanks is known as Alaska’s Golden Heart city in part because of its gold mining history. Ore at some mines was excavated with dredges, which scooped out gold-bearing sediment with buckets attached to a chain.

The stolen bucket measures about 19-by-20-by 23 inches. It’s considered a small dredge bucket.

Police say it was taken from museum grounds between Aug. 7 and Tuesday morning.

The border patrol and antiques dealers have been notified of the theft.

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On the Net:

Bucket photo: http://www.uaf.edu/news.

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AP-WS-08-16-09 1528EDT