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The brother of a Clarksville man who died when a cave collapsed on him in western Kentucky said his brother was "just your ordinary, run-of-the-mill" guy who enjoyed searching for artifacts as a hobby.
Christian County Coroner Dorris Lamb said 42-year-old Devin William Peters of Clarksville was killed Monday while searching for Native American artifacts in the cave between Pembroke and Oak Grove.
"He was a very great guy," said his brother, Dennis Peters. "If you knew him personally, you'd be crying like the rest of us."
Dennis Peters said his brother was a hard-working brick mason who spent his free time looking for artifacts, of which he had a huge collection.
Dennis Peters added that his brother didn't do it for money.
He said Devin Peters looked for fields that had just been plowed and asked the property owner if he could look for artifacts.
"He never went on a man's land he didn't have permission to go on, and he did have permission to hunt where they were last night," said Dennis Peters.
Devin Peters and a close friend hunted together, his brother said, and had a pact that they would bring a cell phone with them wherever they would hunt in case something happened.
Devin Peters' friend was with him the night the cave collapsed.
"(The friend) turned around to say something to (Devin) and he heard a whoosh and (a crevice) caved in on him," Dennis Peters said. "(The friend) immediately ran to the car and called 911 and was trying to dig him out when rescuers got there."
Dennis Peters said when he received the call from his brother's girlfriend of 14 years, it floored him. He added that while many people had been "bashing" his brother, he doesn't think Devin Peters' artifact-hunting made him a bad person.
"If you don't know him, I don't think you should criticize somebody just for what he was doing (Monday) night," Dennis Peters said. "He would give the shirt off his back if you asked for it in the freezing cold."
Dennis Peters said he has fond memories of his brother, who was seven years younger than him.
"Me and him went fishing and did all kinds of things together," Dennis Peters said.
Wonder if the family of the pot hunter who passed away would consider donating his collection in his name,
to a museum where the artifacts could serve a historical and educational purpose, along with a statement to
the effect that all artifacts were gathered with permission on private lands?
kingscreek wrote:I know the owners of the property that this incident occured on and a family member informed me that they gave noone and never have permission to dig in any of there caves except for professionals. Which was in Glovers cave between 1940 and 1980.
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