Relic from the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is returned, plus $600,000 from Michigan

By ED WHITE DETROIT AP The state of Michigan is giving up ownership of a rare relic from the famous Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck just weeks after it strangely obtained it through a settlement in a lawsuit that was fully unrelated to the doomed freighter Larry Orr is getting one of the ship s life rings back and the state will still pay to settle his lawsuit over police misconduct I feel a whole lot better Orr informed The Associated Press this week In eight days after the Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior killing all men Orr explained he located the life ring and a piece of a lifeboat on shore in Michigan s Upper Peninsula There was an eerie feeling Maybe someone had survived he recalled I looked around for footprints or any other sign of life for a while and never ascertained anything Fast forward years to this autumn Orr was in talks with the Michigan State Police to settle a lawsuit He accused Lt David Busacca of violating his rights during a sexual abuse assessment that was ultimately discredited Orr had spent five months in jail in addition to house arrest before charges were dropped in Orr and his attorney Shannon Smith declared the state suddenly expressed interest in the Fitzgerald life ring during the negotiations Orr reported Busacca was aware that he owned it when he saw paperwork during a search of his Michigan home Orr commented he felt he was being manipulated but he also needed money to move out of a recreation carriage in Yulee Florida Smith announced throwing the ring into the deal raised the settlement to from roughly I think we should have gotten a million for everything they did to me Orr noted The AP was first to statement the peculiar deal on Oct When state police were petitioned to explain why it was appropriate spokesperson Shanon Banner revealed the department was not at ease Additional talks among lawyers led to a new agreement Orr gets the ring back while taxpayers will still be on the hook for to close the police misconduct lawsuit Banner acknowledged the terms this week For decades Orr allowed the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Paradise Michigan to display the orange ring which has Fitzgerald in stenciled letters Now he might sell it at auction Orr announced he s trying to buy a modular home and his wife s car is on its last legs I need all the money I can get he disclosed