Researcher accused of stealing fossils from College of Charleston museum surrendered

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A former College of Charleston researcher accused of stealing fossils has surrendered to law enforcement.

Records from the Charleston County Detention Center show Robert Boessenecker was booked into the jail Tuesday morning on a grand larceny charge.

The arrest stems from a report to campus police that property belonging to the Mace Brown Natural History had gone missing earlier this month.

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Missing items included a rare dolphin jaw and teeth fossil, a 3D-printed whale skull, an extremely rare fish jaw, and a seal skeleton – and it was believed the items were taken by the former researcher.

Incident reports obtained by News 2 show that Boessnecker had admitted to stealing fossils from the museum to a witness, and also bragged that his wife, Sarah Boessnecker “pulled a few strings” so that official records of a fossil donation were gone. She was working as the museum’s collection manager at the time.

While speaking with police, the witness verified that while helping Boessnecker move out of his office, he mentioned taking fossils from the museum and asked her to store some of the boxes for him because he did not have room.

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The witness also provided an audio recording of the researcher boasting about how the box the witness was holding, “was actually a proto-seal from the Oregon coast that he took from the museum when he got ‘s***-canned’,” the report said.

Boessnecker and the College parted ways in August 2023, according to police reports, although the reason is unclear.

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