A real treasure map?

[Froghunter]

Well that's today's find. Dad had a story he would tell about finding gold bars and a golden statue in an old mine. It was on federal land and he was trying to find a legal way to claim it without losing it. He passed in September and we just found a stack of papers and 2 cassette tapes locked away. Legal papers on how to claim treasure, maps, pictures and the cassettes of him telling what he found and what happened afterwards.

Now my question is what do I do with all this stuff? It's two states away and not something I can just go check out. I'm no treasure hunter and need info on where to start.

 

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[molonlabe12]

Well this forum is the place to start. Alot of people with great info on just about everything. Wish i could help but im to all this as well

 

[DiggerGal]

Very sorry for your loss. The loss of a Parent is very difficult.
The first place to start is researching what you were told on the Cassettes as to timeline and area. Is the area still available (accessible)to obtain the treasure your Father spoke of? or is it paved over on private land?
Timeline: identify the "Who, what, where and when" ( you will probably not find out the why) AND...is it still there?
Finally, where are you located? (Not the exact area of the treasure) just a state would be a start. There are many who can help you here. You came to the right place.
Remember to Keep Quiet on what you have discovered in the recorded data. Weirdos will come out of the woodwork if you announce your find. Select someone to help you discover what you need, Someone you can trust! Then retrieve the treasure and move on with life. Quietly.
Good Luck!

 

[Froghunter]

I'm located in texas.

The old mine is located in Arizona.

 

[DiggerGal]

I'm in Southern California a few hours from the AZ. Border. Let me know if/how I can help you, I would start with the research part of the Who,What,When and how". If the old mine is concealed and contains a "Treasure" that needs to be retrieved, you are in the right place in the forum, however, if it is Gold Ore, silver, plat. Etc. you will need a prospector (plenty of them here too!) just a different passion of sorts.

 

[Argentium]

I would find a discreet way to "back up " the cassette tape as these can fail . You will want to research and privately follow up on any
and all specific leads that are traceable to locations that you can legally access . You stated that there are maps and pictures too ,
you may want to invest in a form of home safe for all these materials so you can keep them secure during which time you are
gathering information on the what /where of all this . If after doing research on this , you determine that there is evidence
of something worth going after , then the fact that you are two states away becomes a non- issue . You may need to bring in a
trusted friend to "have your back" as you get closer . Perhaps you need to interest a silent partner /investor to help you with
up front expenses in the pursuit of this - Good Luck - (if you succeed , I'm guessing we won't hear much about it !)

 

[Froghunter]

It's supposed to be bars, relics and a statue too big(or heavy)for a man to move.

 

[lookindown]

He should of took it when he found it...someone else has probably got it by now.

 

[pgfhgs]

I have a place in Bullhead City AZ, I would be happy to help, I have plenty of time and can give you rock solid references as to my character, I love to look for lost treasure, I have 2 treasures I am pursuing here in Wisconsin where I live,(winter slows them considerably) the place in AZ is for my coming retirement. I would be happy to sign a non-compete, non-disclosure, non-conflict of interest. Those are all things you should be looking to get legalized, notarized, and reviewed by a family attorney of your choice! I currently own my own business and can "find time" to put forth a serious effort into the venture. PM me if you are interested in discussing further!

 

[gollum]

Froghunter,

1. Back up all your information. Digitize everything you can and put it on two or three thumb drives.

2. Research as much as you can, the area where your dad's mine is. There is a story about a hiker that fell through the roof of an old cave by Weaver's Needle in the Superstition Mountains. When he came to, his leg was badly broken, and when he looked up, there was a life sized gold statue. He said there were also a lot of gold bars in this room. The hiker eventually used the statue to climb back out, but was in a very bad way. The story is that Ed Piper and Robert Crandall found the guy crawling down a trail in Needle Canyon. They took him to a clinic/hospital in Queen Creek, where the hiker died without explaining where he had gone. Another mystery of the Superstition Mountains.

2b. Get a good attorney at this point. You want one that will work on contingency. You will have to convince him your story has merit.

3. It doesn't matter whether you can locate a claim or not. It would not apply. Claims only apply to locatable (unprocessed) ore. Processed gold or silver (coins, bars, statues, etc) require a Treasure Trove Permit to legally recover. Since your mine will probably be in one of the many State or National Forests (as most of Arizona's Mountain Ranges are), you contact the BLM Ranger in charge of that particular area. You will have to convince him that your story has merit. That will be the most difficult thing you will ever have to do. They have heard every wild treasure tale in the book.

TREASURE TROVE

4. Your attorney will have to negotiate your ultimate treasure trove contract with the GSA (General Services Administration). The best you can ever hope to get is a 50/50 split (with all the recovery and incidentals coming out of your 50%).

.............. one other thing. Don't trust anybody. I apologize if this sounds accusatory (it isn't meant to be), but if people think you have a real treasure, you will get a million offers of help. Keep your team as small as possible. Have experts in any field of study necessary. One of the parts of your Treasure Trove Permitting Process is to have your site evaluated by a practicing Archaeologist. If your site is around a native habitation, or presents some historical significance, you better be very convincing in your treasure story. Also, don't have anybody on your team that you don't personally know, or know someone that knows them. Over the years, many people have taken on partners for a treasure hunt, and they turned up missing or dead. Jesse Capen from Denver is a good example. He came from Denver to find the Lost Dutchman. He disappeared for three years, until skeleton was found on Tortilla Mountain. While researching his movements, it was found out that he had met someone in Arizona. Shared a motel room. Had breakfast with, but nobody knew who this person was. There were never any charges filed, but why had this person not come forward when his partner disappeared? Just be very careful, and NEVER go into the mountains without people you know.

Best of Luck - Mike

 

[beez0404]

You can forward the information to me and Tom and I would be glad to verify if it's good information or not.

 

[UnderMiner]

You should have done at least a little research on treasure hunting before making this post. If you had done even just a little research you would have known that the #1 rule of treasure hunting is to never ever tell people that you know where a treasure is located. Even if there is no treasure, you simply don't tell people, "I've found a treasure map, I have no experience in treasure hunting, but lets go out and find it." Milton Ernest Noss, the man who claimed to have stumbled across a treasure in New Mexico's Victorio Peak, was murdered possibly because his associate wanted to keep all the alleged treasure for himself. There may not have even been any treasure, but the idea that there was treasure was enough to lead to murder. With that said if I were you I would not talk about treasure as openly as you are doing now. Blabbing loudly about owning a map that leads to priceless artifacts has never led to good things for the map owner.

 

[gollum]

Underminer,

Doc Noss isn't a good example of that. Charley Ryan murdered Noss because Noss was reneging on a deal to sell Ryan 300 gold bars. Even after telling Ryan where they were previously, Doc and Tony Jolley went and rehid 110 of the three hundred bars the night before. The next day, they got into a fight, and when Doc was on his way to his truck, Ryan fired once hitting Doc in the head killing him instantly. Ryan never got a single bar that I know of.

A perfect example for Froghunter would be the story of Adolph Ruth. He had authentic treasure maps to the Peralta Family Mines (including thr Lost Dutchman many think) in his possession. He showed up at the "Quarter Circle U" Ranch owned by Tex Barkley. Adolph was an older man, and it was late May when he arrived at the ranch telling everybody that would listen that he had authentic treasure maps, and he would find the Lost Dutchman Mine in quick time. Tex had things to do, and really didn't want to pack this old guy into those mountains in the heat of the Summer. He promised that if Ruth would wait a few days till he got back, that he would take him into the mountains. Ruth just couldn't wait. He found a couple of cowhands at the ranch that agreed to pack him in. Long story short, nine months later, they found his skull separated from his body by about a mile, and his skull had two holes from side to side. The map he was known to have had was not in his effects when they found him.



As an addendum, many years later. The widow of one of the two ranch hands that packed Ruth into the mountains had a map left by her late husband. Not to mention that after packing Ruth into the mountains, the two guys were seen driving Ruth's car all over Phoenix.

Mike

 

[signal]

If I were in this situation, I am not even sure I would approach anyone in BLM. They could easily go recover it themselves and you would never know. I don't trust many of these types of people, even though I know many are good, there is corruption in all types of people, especially those that have authority.

I agree consulting an attorney would be good, but once again, it should be one you absolutely trust. Because you are not a "treasure hunter", and you have only this information, then your value stops at this information. Once you divulge the information, you have given everything away. So ideally you would want to safeguard the location, at least until you have been able to survey the treasure, and then you should personally accompany during the recovery. You should also let someone know what you are doing and who you will be with whenever doing anything involving this treasure. For example if you have a meeting with someone, or are going to visit the site. This way at least someone is looking out for you. It sounds very exciting, it sounds like it was important to your father, and likely one of his dreams. Whether you find the treasure, or even just the spot, at least there can be some resolution.

 

[Higgy]

Froghunter: Now that you've gotten some good advice here, you need to clam up. Do your research. Study study study, and then plan a vacation to go get your treasure. When you get it, don't tell anyone - sit on it a while - do more research on how to keep it. There are too many tales of treasure hunters (right on this forum) not doing the right things at first and regretting it. Loose lips sink ships - don't trust anyone.

 

[Ahab8]

It's great advice to back everything up but I would strongly recommend that you sit down and physically write nots for yourself. Something tangible in a notebook that will be there regardless of and technological issues. Write down all the pertinent info and hide it well. Wen you do your research and get prepared you can simply take this journal with you. But I would strongly recommend you not say another word and I honestly would delete this post. The less people that lay eyes on this the better.
Most importantly I'm sorry you lost your dad

 

[Scrappy]

Sorry about your dad. When I lost my grandfather he left me his coins and I became fascinated, and his gift to me was spurring my interest in old artifacts, and eventually detecting. My point is that treasure info is great stuff and in fact a gift. Delete this thread and trust nobody. I'm sure any T-net member on this thread would be happy to answer any more questions you may have, so save any names you want before deleting...

Good luck and I hope to see your post with gold on here someday.

<delete>

 

[Froghunter]

Now for part 2 of this story and where I have my doubts. Dad found a treasure and took NOTHING. No pictures, no samples or anything. He came home empty handed later went through a divorce and never returned to the mountains. Within 2 years of his "find" dad lost his mind. Alzheimer's set in. He saw people and things that weren't there, had no idea of who I was or even what year it was. It was sad to see and I heard tons of wild stories.

My problem is: did he find a treasure and lose his mind OR lose his mind and find a treasure?

 

[WHADIFIND]

I'll just say this. Posting on the internet ANY clue to what you might have, is the "WRONGEST", thing you could do.

If you think that the "real" modern day pirate/claim jumper doesn't ALREADY know where this post originated. Right down to the
person's real name and address. Then, they simply do not understand how technology works.

Scarey? Yeah, well, it should be and therefore, the "wrongest" thing to do.

Be watching now, and see if you don't have at least an attempted contact, in your "real" world.

Nuff said?

 

[releventchair]

IF your dad knew where something was and left it intact he had very good reason to. Is the tale of this "treasure" a curse or blessing?

I'm not you. But I would secure information, including a duplicate set, in a couple spots . Secure the key word. I also would not have direct access to it anymore than what was being currently researched by small amounts and not have it secured where anyone else but a trustee could acquire it.
Opinions will vary but it's neat your dad had a bit of a treasure bug. What he saw in his minds eye was his to see. Even if you leave it as his.
Secure your knowledge from others in a manner it can not be acquired; with you present or not. If you want to research start with if location exists. From where you are much can be fleshed out without a road trip. No rush, and proof to yourself is required to claim it is real.