Closing statement
Hola mi amigos,
This reply is of necessity very long, so I must beg your indulgence and patience; in compensation, it will be my last such "argument" on this topic.
Thank you in advance.
Somehiker wrote
I would think that if Jesse did,in fact, pay for his "partner" s room at the AJ motel, as Roy has stated in a previous post, then this person would have become an important witness very early in the investigation. The name, address,etc. would have been known from the register at the motel. This also makes it likely that the person was not from the AJ area.
Talk to the woman who rented Jesse the room, a room which he specifically asked for two separate beds so that each would have one. The partner did not sign the register, only the person who pays for the room is generally the signatory when renting a room. I do not know the officer who interviewed the woman when they were first investigating, but he or she seems to have dropped the ball on this point. It does seem logical that the partner is not from the AJ area, hence his need for a place to stay, but it is also possible they simply chose to stay at the motel together so as to get an early start in the morning, which is supported by the breakfast purchased at the Jack-in-the-Box by Jesse, and again he paid for both.
I was told that the remains were within the burned off area, not precisely where it was started. I have not been to the spot where Jesse's remains were found so can not say one way or the other.
Sgtfda wrote
Don't rule anything out. His face may have bounced off the rocks on the way down. Was there only skeletal remains? Was the area above the fall examined?
While I can't say exactly what, there is a piece of evidence indicating that Jesse was injured
before he went off the cliff. As this bit of information is not yet public, I can not say what it is. Of course you do not have to believe me about this either. I do not have the answers to your further questions.
If anyone wishes to believe that I am making up stories, you are certainly free to do so. It is not my job to convince anyone, please do not take my word on anything stated; talk to the persons involved directly. I certainly do not have all the answers, nor can I account for any lapses in the police involvement along the way. It is always easier to dismiss such an incident as an unhappy accident, a misfortunate lone hiker or treasure hunter got into trouble and died. To me, there are too many issues for this explanation, from the mystery person seen with Jesse (and a witness who talked with this mystery person in AJ) to the extra sleeping bag which Jesse could not possibly fit into, or the two wallets. I am convinced there is another person involved in Jesse's case, whom knows more than we do. Perhaps this person became frightened when Jesse fell and simply fled the scene, afraid of involvement. You are certainly free and welcome to make your own conclusions and disregard everything and anything I have said.
I am done here - I won't try any further to convince you of what my own conclusions are.
To tie this in to Jesse's original reasons for choosing Tortilla mountain as the point he believed the LDM was located, we can never know. He did research before he headed in, and there are reasons to choose Tortilla mountain. Jim Hatt had leaned to thinking it was Tortilla at one time but seemed to have ruled it out later. Perhaps the main clue was that you can in fact pan gold on Tortilla mountain, in small to tiny quantities, in many locations? Another treasure hunter I had talked with, whom was attempting to form a partnership at the time, told me you can pan gold literally "anywhere" on the mountain, which I had to point out to him would not be any help in locating the Lost Dutchman mine since you could not trace it back to the vein if you can pan gold everywhere. You can also pan gold in Tortilla creek which runs past the mountain, in small quantities, but again the fact that the gold is so widely dispersed makes it no help in finding the mine. Perhaps the gold was what led Jesse to choose Tortilla mountain, combined with the Holmes description of trailing Waltz in the same general area before getting caught.
Good luck and good hunting to you all, I hope you find the treasures that you seek.
Oroblanco
[coffee2]
<I have done that more than once!>
