gold bars found in new mexico

The affidavit states, in part: In March of 1949 I handled 110 rough [sic] poured bars of gold in the area which is now White Sands Missile Range which is now the area of Victorio Peak. The fortune of a Mexican emperor? Edward Atkins himself died, reportedly of a heart attack, in April 1979 while returning to Illinois from El Paso on a matter pertaining to his claim. But in a dispute over the treasure in 1949, the business partner, Charlie Ryan, shot Mr. Noss to death. For three months beginning on June 20, 1963, the group used various techniques to search the area; however, they failed to turn up anything. Large movements of bullion from the peak went on for nearly a decade, with the largest single removal of gold occurring in 1976, according to Bill Shriver. There wasn't much known about a 4-pound gold bar discovered during construction work in Mexico City nearly 40 years ago, but now experts are calling the precious metal an Aztec relic. Many hieroglyphs have been found in New Mexico near his home, according to treasure hunters from the area. She appealed to state officials, who forced the search to stop. They also were given and passed lie detector tests. Leon Trabuco's Gold A Mexican businessman buries 16 tons of gold in the New Mexico desert and then dies before telling anyone where it is. A retired White Sands Missile Range security guard, residing in El Paso, Texas, indicated that he observed Johnson and former Texas Governor John Connally spending about 10 days in the desolate area around Victorio Peak in the late 1960s. Subsequently, he also filed several mining claims on and around Victorio Peak and a treasure trove claim. He said he often grew angry that his grandmother was ignored or ridiculed for her efforts. The two decided to keep the discovery between themselves and return to inspect the shaft later. Where they the plunder of Spanish conquistadores who had conquered the Aztecs? One partner, Charles Ryan, shot and killed Doc on March 5, 1949, in Hatch, N. M., after an argument. Yet that is exactly what happened to Milton "Doc" Noss, a traveling doctor who discovered an extensive cave network laden with gold and historical artifacts or so he claimed. Then, in 1942 or 1943, she isn't sure, he tried to blast the tunnel bigger in order to haul up more gold bars at one time. At one time, he brought out a crown, which contained 243 diamonds and one pigeon-blood ruby. Ova convinced Doc to return to the big cave and bring one of the heavy bars back up. Doc returned with a gold bar, presented it to his wife, Babe, and the couple soon dedicated their lives to exploring Victorio Peak, living in a tent at the base of the mountain in search of treasure. There were 110 gold bars moved that night, according to an affidavit obtained by this writer and sworn to by Jolley. Doc tried several times to regain entry into his mine, but the shaft was sealed with tons of debris. Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology (INAH) says it has now confirmed that a 1.93-kilogram gold bar was part of looted Aztec treasure (AFP Photo/Jesus VALDOVINOS) A gold bar, found 15 feet down in a Mexico City park in 1981, was just announced to have been part of Montezuma's treasure. The dispute was finally worked out when a federal court issued a compromise of sorts, which stated the Army would continue to use the lands surface, but no one would be allowed on the property without the Armys consent. The answer could be worth billions of dollars. Neither man being familiar with laws governing the discovery of treasure on a military base, Fiege went to the Judge Advocates Office at Holloman Air Force Base to confer with Colonel Sigmund I. Gasiewicz. Bill Shriver, before his death, told this writer that he had a copy of a transcribed order from Lyndon Johnson describing in detail how the president wanted a military escort to handle the supply of gold taken out of Victorio Peak and taken to his ranch. Try as he would, Captain Fiege could not penetrate the opening he had used just three years earlier. According to the security guard, Johnson and Connally headed a team which brought in sophisticated excavation equipment to remove gold from the peak, the most modern Ive ever seen, he said. The Mystery Of The Lost Victorio Peak Treasure, a group of researchers who published their findings. But while trying to blast his way to the gold in 1939, he accidentally closed the hole. They bore the Spanish stamp. The treasure was allegedly found in 1937 by American businessman and gold prospector Milton Ernest "Doc" Noss. A treaty was reached between the tribe and the Federal government in Washington that the Indians could stay upon the land in New Mexico. After three years they were given permission to go back to Victoria. Trace element analysis of placer gold can be used as a valuable exploration tool in order to determine the original deposit source and locating lode gold deposits. He was overcome with joy that they might be gold. The family declines to discuss the incident. The. Maxmillian was assassinated in 1867. Only four districts have each yielded more than 100,000 oz of placer gold production: Elizabethtown-Baldy (DIS019), Hillsboro (DIS197), Old Placers (DIS187), and New Placers (DIS186). During World War II, he divorced his wife, Ova, and disappeared for several years. And, on March 4, 1949, the day before Doc was shot, a small plane crashed near Victoria Peak killing the pilot and severely injuring Marvin Beckwith, son of the, first Mrs. Noss. WHITE SANDS, N.M. Lost treasure stories are a dime a dozen in the Southwest. The family believes that as much as 100 tons of gold, which would be worth $1.25 billion at today's closing price of $358.90 an ounce on the Commodity Exchange in New York, remains hidden in. After some airmen from a nearby air force base claimed they found some gold at Victorio Peak, the Army and Secret Service began a secret search in 1961. Reaching a compromise, the military allowed Expeditions Unlimited, representing all of the claimants, to excavate the peak in 1977. One story involves a Jesuit missionary named Padre LaRue whose band of 40 gold mining families was massacred in a punitive raid by Spanish soldiers in the early eighteenhundreds. He also told his wife that there were enough gold and silver coins to load 60 to 80 mules.. Placer gold collected from multiple districts in New Mexico, coupled with a broad database of previously analyzed placer gold samples indicate correlations between chemical signatures (especially gold, silver, and copper) and type of deposits (i.e., Au-rich copper porphyry deposits, Au porphyry deposits, and epithermal deposits). However, with the discovery of gold, the treaty was broken in 1878, and Victorio went on the warpath. An intense argument ensued, and Noss headed toward his car. There were thousands of them, covered with old, dusty buffalo hides. Neither the Denver Mint nor the Federal records center in Denver, which has copies of gold receints for that period, could find the Noss receipt, spokesmen there said. According to Berlett, the four men proceeded down a fault into the peak for about 150 feet, at which point their progress was stopped by a large boulder. While waiting for the rain to subside, he noticed a stone that looked as if it had been worked somehow. Porter and his friends were amused at his story and McDonald, to prove that what he was saying was true, took the two other hunters on a moonlit drive to Victorio Peak. Testing the old wooden pole attached to one side of the passage, Doc rejected the idea of using it and dropped into the shaft with a rope instead. Discovered by a . Noss claimed that he noticed a strange rock while taking shelter in a cave within Victorio Peak, in New Mexico in 1937. The men believed that Porters friend was in a good position to help arrange an official government expedition to claim the gold. On the walls were drawings, some painted and others chiseled, that appeared to have been made by Indians. Mr. Bailey will not say, but Mrs. Noss and, her dozen or so partners have filed a $1billion Federal Court suit charging that the Government, the Secretary of the Army, several military officers and 200 John Does were conspiring to bilk her out of the treasure. Now, scientists confirm it was part of a plunder by Spanish conquistador Hernn. "We're treating the gold searchers just like any other client," said Jim Eckles, a spokesman for the White Sands range. Part II: The bizarre history of Victorio Peak continues to unravel as the Army, the Treasury Department and the Secret Service authorize a top secret operation aimed at locating and bringing out the gold. John Dean, the former lawyer for President Richard M. Nixon, mentioned that Attorney General John Mitchell had been asked to pull strings to allow some searchers to look for the gold. Seeking out the Seven Cities of Gold, Onate was said to have been a cruel man, brutally subjugating the Indians to do his bidding by beating and torturing them. In 1979, Babe died without ever finding the treasure. It would also explain the presence of the Wells Fargo bags, packsaddles, letters, and other artifacts dating to Victorios time. Even though the military refused any of Babes efforts to work her claim, it did not refuse other military personnel from exploring portions of Victorio Peak. The skeletons hands were bound behind its back apparently, the person had been deliberately left there to die. In 1972, F. Lee Bailey became involved in the dispute, representing some 50 clients, including Babe Noss, the Fiege group, Violet Noss Yancy, Expeditions Unlimited (a Florida-based treasure hunting group), and many others. We are a research and service division of: Placer gold deposits were an important source of gold in New Mexico prior to 1902, but placer production after 1902 has been minor. The horde of an Apache chief? The actual movement of the gold in this last, largest shipment, Shriver said, was done by [U.S.] military aircraft. Independent of Shriver, another source traced a number of large removals from Victorio Peak. The engineer suggested eight sticks of dynamite, to which Noss heatedly disagreed, claiming the mountain was too unstable. The rate of this tax varies from 5.125% to 8.8675% depending on where the business is . It could finally solve the mystery. We wanted to lay the matter to rest once and for all, said General Shinkle, who is now tetireil and lives in Cocoa Beach, Fla. We gave him a lie detector test beforehand and it was apparentiy, successful but he couldn't find anything.. The Lost Padre Gold Mine in New Mexico. All Rights Reserved. After the discovery, Fiege told several people that he had caved in the roof and walls to make it look like the tunnel ended. The total price for such a happy. On the night of March 4, 1949, I went with Doc Noss and dug up 20 bars of gold at a windmill in the desert east of Hatch, New Mexico, and reburied them in the basin where Victorio Peak is. Meanwhile, Noss's mining claims (for talc as a disguise) expired in 1948, and Mrs. Noss renewed them in her name. The gold, Porters friend stated breathlessly, ran in a tremendous stack along one side of the cavern stretching for approximately 200 yards. Floyd and his friend Pat were getting ready to look for treasure in an area where Pat found found three old metal bars in a cave on the old Spanish trail in New Mexico. Suddenly, a host of people surfaced to lay claims on the legendary gold treasure. Peak and look, accompanied by the missile range commander, Maj. Gen. John G. Shinkle, military pblicemen and Treasury agents. It has banned treasure hunters from the range since 1963. Shriver also said that he had copies of other presidential messages, several initialed by LBJ, dealing with the clandestine, illegal removal of the gold. The soldiers, Airman First Class Thomas Berlett and Captain Leonard V. Fiege said they had found approximately 100 gold bars weighing between 40 and 80 pounds each in a small cavern. The buying entity was a Middle Eastern principal, Shriver said. Additionally, the actual land where Victorio Peak is located was not owned by the State of New Mexico but rather by a man named Roy Henderson, who had leased it to the Army. Years later, in 1946, Doc discussed his exploration with Gordon E. Herkenhoff, field representative of the New Mexico State Land Office.1. A deal with a man named Charlie Ryan went south, and Noss was gunned down. Many streams in New Mexico contain at least traces of gold, enough to satisfy weekend gold panners. Now, scientists confirm it was part of a plunder by Spanish conquistador Hernn. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Victorio_Peak_treasure&oldid=1133710645, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 15 January 2023, at 04:22. A new scientific analysis of a large gold bar found decades ago in downtown Mexico City reveals it was part of the plunder Spanish conquerors tried to carry away as they fled the Aztec capital . : Did 'Doc' Noss Really Find Caverns of Gold or Did He Pull Off a Hoax That Has Plagued His Kin for Years? The gold bar had disappeared without a trace. (1.93 kilograms), while digging for the construction of a central bank in Mexico City. His warriors raided southern New Mexico and Texasin an all-out war against the U.S. Army and the Texas Rangers. Gold also concentrates above cemented gravels and clay layers within gravel deposits, which constrain downward migration of gold particles. That I had known E.M. Guthrie for about three years prior to this meeting and knew him to be the husband of Letha Guthrie, stepdaughter of Milton Ernest Doc Noss. Mr. Mitchell is said to have forwarded the matter to the White House. Noss refused to obey, and Ryan fired again, hitting Noss in the head, killing him instantly. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Alleged gold cache in the U.S. state of New Mexico, "Hunt for Fabulous Cache of Gold Lands in Court", "Following 1937 Story of Buried Gold, Family Searches New Mexico's Sands", "Seekers of fabled southern N.M. treasure sue Army", "Authors re-examine Victorio Peak storyand think gold really may be there", "Treasure or Treachery? CNN Almost four decades ago, a gold bar was found on land that used to be Aztec ruins in Mexico. He supposedly told his wife: "We can make John D. Rockefeller look like a tramp. some of the gold to Mexico, in light planes. He bolted from the Mescalero reservation in 1879 and camped near Victoria Peak while plundering the countryside and raiding Wells Fargo stagecoaches. The whole truth will probably never be known, but there is no doubt that a treasure existed. "We have always believed that the gold was still there," said Terry Delonas, the 43-year-old son of one of Mr. Noss's stepdaughters who is directing the search. [6][5] By 1992, a grandson of Ova formed the Ova Noss Family Partnership to finance additional searching. We took 90 bars stacked by a mine shaft at Victorio Peak and reburied them 10 in a pile scattered throughout the basin with the exception of 30 bars that we buried in a grassy flat near the road we came out on.. The Army then shut down all operations stating that no additional searches would be allowed. In 1981, a worker in Mexico City found a gold bar just north of Alameda Centralthe oldest public park in the Americasduring the construction of a bank. Their findings for approximately 200 yards between themselves and return to the white.!, some painted and others chiseled, that appeared to have forwarded the matter to the cave! Search to stop Ernest `` Doc '' Noss found in 1937 keep the between! 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