A pair of Alberta treasure hunters who came to the Yukon in search of a sunken Second World War bomber found what they were looking for, but went home empty-handed.

The couple successfully dredged part of a B-26 Martin's Marauder from Watson Lake earlier this week, using floatation bags to bring a part of the fuselage to the surface and a trailer to pull it out of the water.

But before they could get the entire war bird out of the lake, someone reported their salvaging efforts to police.

They were stopped by local RCMP officers, had their booty confiscated, and are now being investigated under the Heritage Resources Act.

"We own it; it's part of our heritage," Jeff Hunston, the Yukon government's manager of Heritage Resources, said today of the American plane.

"Our heritage is not for sale to be peddling hither and yon, and so whatever happens to it will be the best for Yukoners."

The Albertans, who were accompanied by their 13-year-old son, did not have a permit to "deliberately search for and acquire remains," Hunston said.

No charges have been laid against the couple, but they are required to appear in Watson Lake court on July 14.

According to police, both federal and territorial laws could apply to the case.

In spite of his department's eagerness to stop people from removing artifacts from the territory, Hunston said the rest of the plane will remain underwater, and may never be brought up.

"We would look upon (bringing it up) with a lot of scrutiny because of the cost involved," Hunston said. "We're not saying we wouldn't do it but we wouldn't approach it very lightly.

"We're not into panic mode on pulling this out. We'll do it thoughtfully when the time is right."

Hunston could not give an estimate of how much it would cost to bring the plane up and restore, but pointed to an article entitled Affordable War Birds published in the 1990s, which puts the value of a refurbished B-26 Marauder anywhere between $75,000 and $250,000.

The section of the plane that has been brought up will remain in the hands of the Department of Tourism and Culture, he said, but couldn't provide any details of what the department will do with the aircraft.

The department had no knowledge of the plane before the Albertans' arrival, Hunston said.

RCMP Cpl. Tom Howell of the Watson Lake detachment said the plane was one of 12 B-26 bombers that flew up from Maxwell Air base in Montgomery, Alabama, in the winter of 1942.

"It crashed intact with no loss of life," Howell said. Although the body of the plane is marked with bullet holes, Howell said those were from air force personnel "taking pot shots" as opposed to actual battle scars.

During the Secon World War, the American Air Force flew approximately 7,000 bombers and fighters through the Yukon to Alaska as part of the Alaska-Siberia ferry route.

"They were strategically moving the bombers and fighters to Russia to attack Hitler from the East just to complicate his life a bit more," local aviation historian Bob Cameron explained today.

He said the Marauders' nickname, "The Widowmaker", was a common one amongst American planes, and referred to the B-26's proclivity for crashing, especially during takeoffs and landings.