Judge rules in favor of T. rex hunters, incl. Atkins native Kim Hollrah

From Associated Press, via Houston Chronicle:

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - A lease that gives legal title of Tinker the teenage T-rex to the fossil hunters who discovered it is valid, and the paleo-prospectors did not engage in fraud or trespass, a federal judge ruled this week.The 65-million-year-old fossil was unearthed from northwest South Dakota in 1998, but Harding County filed a lawsuit in August 2004 alleging that Ron Frithiof, of Austin, Texas, U.S. District Judge Richard Battey ruled Tuesday that the fossil hunters acted within the law and Harding County must abide by the November 2000 lease it tried to rescind. ...

The 65-million-year-old fossil was unearthed from northwest South Dakota in 1998, but Harding County filed a lawsuit in August 2004 alleging that Ron Frithiof, of Austin, Texas, Kim Hollrah of Iowa and Melody Harrell of Texas wrongfully and illegally removed the skeletal remains from county property.

U.S. District Judge Richard Battey ruled Tuesday that the fossil hunters acted within the law and Harding County must abide by the November 2000 lease it tried to rescind. ...

CT scans of the "teenage" Tyrannosaurus rex were made at St. Luke's Hospital in late 2000. From Gazette archives: A look into the past - Dinosaur bones undergo medical scan at C.R. hospital