"Le Griffon" may have been found by the Great Lakes Exploration Group but the potential remains were the subject of lawsuits involving the discoverers, the state of Michigan, the U.S. federal government, and the Government of France. Originally discovered in 2001 near Poverty Island, Michigan sonar has shown an object approximately (similar to the dimensions of "Le Griffon") located under several feet of sediment. In July 2010 the Great Lakes Exploration Group issued a press release stating that they, the state of Michigan and France had reached agreement to co-operate in the next phase of an archaeological site assessment for identifying the shipwreck. After years of legal squabbles the Michigan Department of Natural Resources issued a permit, and on 16 June 2013, an underwater pit was dug allowing US and French archeologists to examine the object for the first time. They discovered a 15-inch slab of blackened wood that might have been a human-fashioned cultural artifact. On 19 June 2013, teams of scientists determined the wood pole discovered was not attached to a ship, after it came loose and was placed on the lake bed during an excavation. They concluded it was likely a bowsprit dating from a ship hundreds of years old, although some think it was a common pound net stake used for fishing nets in the 19th century. At the time, no other wreckage was found, but scientists noted other wreckage may not be far away.