Two Traverse City men face charges after they admitted to scavenging four pieces of wood from the shipwreck Metropolis in East Grand Traverse Bay just off of Old Mission Peninsula.

Jacob Francis Garris, 27, and Joseph Michael Frawley, 28, face charges of removing property worth between $100 and $20,000 from state land. The defendants were arraigned Tuesday. The charges are felonies that carry up to five years in prison.

The Department of Natural Resources investigated after a witness supplied photographs of the pieces coming off of the shipwreck September 16, the MC number from the boat that was used, and a license plate number from a vehicle used by one of the suspects.

An officer traced the license plate to Garris, who at first said he and Frawley only took only one piece from the wreck. Frawley made the same statement and told the officer where the artifact could be found.

Later, the officer confronted the suspects about the three other pieces and they admitted they had taken all four, according to the charges. The curator of maritime history at the Detroit Historical Society examined the artifacts and estimated they are worth $1,450.

When reached by The Ticker, Garris declined to comment; Frawley could not be reached for comment.