§ 19-41. Artifact or treasure hunting.

(a)

It shall be unlawful for any person to search any park or other area owned or operated by the county for recreational purposes for historic artifacts or for the purpose of locating lost or abandoned personal property of another, unless such person specifically is authorized by the owner of that personal property to make such search on the owner's behalf.

(b)

It shall be unlawful for any person to remove any historic artifacts or lost or abandoned personal property of another from any park or other area owned or operated by the county for recreational purposes unless such person specifically is authorized by the owner of that personal property to recover such personal property on the owner's behalf.

(c)

It shall be unlawful for any person to dig in or otherwise disturb the ground in a park or other area owned by the county for recreational purposes, except under the circumstances permitted in subsection 19-40(b) above.

(d)

This section does not prohibit a person from visually searching for and reclaiming his/her own lost property in any park or other area owned or operated by the county for recreational purposes, either by himself/herself or by someone specifically authorized by the owner of the lost personal property to act on his/her behalf.

(e)

The prohibitions of this section shall not apply to law enforcement personnel engaged in the lawful execution of their duties or to persons employed or engaged by the county when performing their duties in any park or other area owned or operated by the county for recreational purposes.

(Ord. No. 09-15, Pt. I, 10-27-09)