Page 31 - August 2019

By this time, Mike had already scheduled Mike immediately got to work planning
another special needs hunt but had to his next hunt. This time he had a little help
cancel the event. “The hardest part about from his friend and fellow shark tooth hunter,
losing my license was the fact that I couldn’t John Taylor, John’s daughter Audrey Taylor
hold the second special needs hunt because Flores, and the March of Dimes. Mike was
I just didn’t have enough teeth at that point able to provide the biggest hunt to date, and
to hold it. I was completely crushed thinking all proceeds went to the March of Dimes.
about those kids who were so excited about
it and I let them down.” “It’s just a really cool thing that
Again, Mike Harris wasn’t going down
without a fight! He felt that the Artifacts came from something that wasn’t
and Underwater Antiquities Act was being really cool and it’s changed my
misused. By this point, all of Mike's tooth life!”
hunts had been put to a halt and it stirred a “Shark Tooth Fairy”
public outcry that reached the ears of state
representative, Shannon Erickson.
Mike’s story soon spread to Charleston Toward the end of our interview, Mike sits
for our special needs community. We said and people started contacting Senator next to me at the table, scrolling through the
what day it would be on, but not the time or Sandy Senn, who just so happened to be a 300 some odd pictures of the kids that have
place.” Families that were interested were shark tooth hunter herself. With the support participated in his hunts. I am quite sure he
screened and then told the location and from almost every state representative, the knows the story behind every single picture,
time. With the Coffin Pointe’s Homeowner SCIAA was contacted about reinstating a doting father smiling and reminiscing
Association’s blessing, Mike was able to Mike's diving license to hunt for shark teeth about the day his child found a really cool
hold his last free event before a string of and strangely enough, “The very next day I shark tooth. That is why he does it. Just to
unfortunate events would seemingly clip the had a license in my mailbox! It didn’t even put a smile on a child’s face. Mikes’ greatest
“Shark Tooth Fairy’s” wings. have a postmark on it! And what a great discovery to date… “I have found the key to
Mike’s previous paid hunt would garner day that was...that same day I was back to happiness. It’s to make others happy.”
attention from the South Carolina Institute diving!”
of Archeology and Anthropology (SCIAA),
and when it came time for Mike to reapply
for his hobby license, he was denied
renewal, the institute claimed he had used
his license for financial gain.
Divers who live in South Carolina
are required to have a hobby license, in
which they are responsible for submitting
a quarterly fossil report to the state. When
it came time to do Mike’s quarterly fossil
reports with the SCIAA , there was a kink
in the process. Mike was told that he was
required to give his GPS coordinates for his
dives. A few weeks later he got a notice
that his fossil report was not acceptable and
his license would be suspended indefinitely.

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