1 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: On Sunday, December twentieth, two thousand and nine, a hiker 2 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,319 Speaker 1: came across a vacant white jeep parked up at a 3 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: trailhead in the foothills of the Mystical Superstition Mountains, roughly 4 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 1: sixty miles east of Phoenix, Arizona. Over the years, the 5 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: other Worldly Superstitions and its two hundred and seventy square 6 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: miles of rocky cactus covered hills, canyons, and boulder strewn 7 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:40,120 Speaker 1: of royos, have proved an increasingly popular destination for intrepid 8 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 1: hikers looking for something a little more challenging away from 9 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: the beaten track. As such, it isn't unusual to find 10 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: the odd car left parked up for days on end 11 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: at any one of the many trailheads dotted throughout the area, 12 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: but something about the loneliness of this one particular jeep 13 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,320 Speaker 1: and the thick layer of dust that covered it gave 14 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:07,760 Speaker 1: the hiker pause for thought. Things only became more alarming 15 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: when the hiker came across an eerily abandoned campsite a 16 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:15,559 Speaker 1: little further up the trail that looked like it hadn't 17 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,960 Speaker 1: been used in days, though it had been disturbed by 18 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 1: a recent storm. A significant stash of food, water, and 19 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:28,039 Speaker 1: personal belongings suggested that whoever had set the camp up 20 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,119 Speaker 1: had not intended to be gone from it for too long. 21 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:37,200 Speaker 1: Cynthia Burnet was at home in Denver, Colorado, the following 22 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,400 Speaker 1: day when she received a call from the Maricopa County 23 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 1: Sheriff's office inquiring as to the whereabouts of her thirty 24 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: five year old son, Jesse Capon. A check on the 25 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: license plate of the jeep returned Jesse's name, and given 26 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: the circumstances, the police had been surprised to find that 27 00:01:55,640 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: he wasn't on a missing person's list. As a teenage, 28 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:04,279 Speaker 1: Capon had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had dropped 29 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 1: out of high school despite routinely scoring near the top 30 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:11,639 Speaker 1: of his class in exams. For eleven years, he worked 31 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: the same job as a bellhop at the Sheraton Hotel 32 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: in downtown Denver. In the years leading up to his disappearance, Jesse, 33 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: who had few friends and struggled socially, worked every hour 34 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: available to rack up enough holiday time to take an 35 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: extended four week break from work. He told his mother 36 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: only that he was planning to go trekking through Arizona's 37 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: Tonto National Forest. The name is a little misleading, since, 38 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: despite the pine forests found to the north, large swathes 39 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: of its two point nine million acres, in particular to 40 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 1: the south, are in fact comprised of rugged flat lands 41 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:55,800 Speaker 1: and cactus covered desert. So quite why Jesse would be 42 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 1: camping at the southern edge of it in the Superstition Mountains. 43 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:03,800 Speaker 1: His mother had no idea. Then, the officer on the 44 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:06,959 Speaker 1: phone asked her if she'd ever heard of the Lost 45 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: Dutchman's Mine, but the phrase meant nothing to her. It 46 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: was only when she went to search her son's room 47 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 1: that things started to fall into place. You're listening to Unexplained, 48 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 1: and I'm Richard McClean smith. On Jesse's bookshelves and strewn 49 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: across a desk, Cynthia found an extensive collection of books 50 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: and maps, all relating to the same thing, the mysterious 51 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: whereabouts of a mythical lost gold mining claim known today 52 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: as the Lost Dutchman's Mine. Even before rumors of the 53 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:55,120 Speaker 1: Lost Dutchmen first snaked their way out of the Superstition's 54 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: ethereal Sun's scorched crags and vast towers of jagged red 55 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: rock the project high up out of the desert brush, 56 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 1: like desperate fingers reaching up from the earth. The area 57 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 1: was known as a cursed place, where any who dared 58 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: to venture there would be lucky to come out alive, 59 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: Like many who'd come before him. Jesse Capan had been 60 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:24,280 Speaker 1: ensnared by the golden radiance of the Lost Dutchman enigma, 61 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:28,039 Speaker 1: unable to resist the temptation that he might just be 62 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 1: able to do the one thing that nobody else had 63 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: done and find it. But there is good reason why 64 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:39,400 Speaker 1: you're just as likely to hear it. Spoken of as 65 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:44,920 Speaker 1: the cursed Lost Dutchman's Mind, the story is said by 66 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 1: some to have all begun in December eighteen seventy nine 67 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:52,599 Speaker 1: with the arrival of a stranger appearing one night in 68 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 1: the Mexican community of Phoenix, Arizona, on the brink of death. 69 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: With his hands and feet torn up and his face 70 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: bloodied and bruised. The man staggered forward, begging any one 71 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: to help him. As he would later go on to explain, 72 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:12,400 Speaker 1: he and a friend had been prospecting for gold in 73 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 1: the Superstitions when they came across a narrow gully, at 74 00:05:16,279 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: the bottom of which was a small stretch of granite 75 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:23,840 Speaker 1: covered an inch thick in black sand. Looking down at it, 76 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:27,600 Speaker 1: they were amazed to see large flecks of gold glinting 77 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: in the harsh sunlight. For years, rumors abounded among the 78 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:37,160 Speaker 1: Mexican community that the mountains, which only thirty years before 79 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:41,040 Speaker 1: were part of the nation of Mexico, were littered with gold. 80 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: Believing they'd finally discovered the source of those tantalizing rumors, 81 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:50,240 Speaker 1: the men soon found themselves fishing out golden nuggets the 82 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 1: size of beams from the sand as they raced to 83 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,400 Speaker 1: gather as much of it as they could. Then a 84 00:05:56,480 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 1: strange look came over one of the men. As the 85 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: other followed the direction of his stare, he looked up 86 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: to see the silhouette of a woman staring down at 87 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: them from high up on a ledge, who then swiftly disappeared. 88 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:17,280 Speaker 1: Moments later, she returned, flanked by over fifty men of 89 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:23,479 Speaker 1: the Native American Dinnat tribe also known as Apache. It 90 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,600 Speaker 1: is said that for the Dinnair, the superstitions are a 91 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: deeply sacred place to be protected at all costs. As 92 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: the men tried to make a break for it, they 93 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:38,240 Speaker 1: were quickly captured and taken off to a nearby cave, where, 94 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:44,320 Speaker 1: after hours of torture, the stranger's friend was killed. Driven 95 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: by fear, the man had somehow managed to escape, then 96 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 1: walked for what seemed like days and nights, stumbling through 97 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:56,039 Speaker 1: the treacherous landscape until he reached the safety of Phoenix 98 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,839 Speaker 1: or the gold they'd found he'd been forced to leave behind, 99 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: and where he'd found it exactly. He could no longer remember. 100 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 1: Here's something you didn't know about me. 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That's promo code 116 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 1: explained for twenty five percent off at Sunday scaris dot com. 117 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: In the wake of the California gold rush of eighteen 118 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:16,080 Speaker 1: forty eight to fifty five, thousands continued to prospect all 119 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,000 Speaker 1: over the United States and the hope of striking rich 120 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: with its enormous uncultivated terrain newly up for grabs. Arizona 121 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:31,240 Speaker 1: in particular, the region encompassing the Superstitions, proved especially enticing. 122 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 1: Though some fortunes were made, there is little mention of 123 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: any lost gold claims on record until that is, September first, 124 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:45,080 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety two, when a peculiar story appeared in the 125 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:50,840 Speaker 1: Arizona Weekly Gazette titled a Queer quest in search for Gold. 126 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:57,079 Speaker 1: It read missus Ew Thomas, formerly of Thomas Ice Cream Parlors, 127 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 1: is now in the Superstition Mountains, engaged in work usually 128 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:06,199 Speaker 1: deemed strange to the woman's spear. She is prospecting for 129 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:09,960 Speaker 1: a lost mine, to the location of which she believes 130 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 1: she holds the key. Missus E. W. Thomas, named as 131 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 1: her husband, was, in fact Julia Thomas born Julia Kahn 132 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:26,440 Speaker 1: in December eighteen sixty two in Louisiana to German immigrant parents. 133 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: Julia married Emil Thomas in December eighteen eighty three and 134 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:34,719 Speaker 1: moved to Phoenix two years later, where the couple ran 135 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 1: a bakery and ice cream parlor. In eighteen ninety, however, 136 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:42,559 Speaker 1: Emil walked out on his wife, leaving her with a 137 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:46,320 Speaker 1: hefty mortgage and considerable debts to pay in relation to 138 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 1: the business. Against all the odds, Julia, only twenty eight 139 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:54,720 Speaker 1: at the time, managed to sustain the business and over 140 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:58,719 Speaker 1: time began to rid herself of debt. When Emil was 141 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: finally tracked down eighteen ninety one, Julia was granted a divorce, 142 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:07,520 Speaker 1: along with all the land, the store, and personal property 143 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:11,880 Speaker 1: she'd once owned with her husband. It is certainly strange, then, 144 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 1: that only a year later she sold it all to 145 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 1: venture into the mountains in search of untold riches, with 146 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:25,600 Speaker 1: seemingly little knowledge and zero experience in the field. As 147 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:30,120 Speaker 1: many have suggested, it all comes back to Thomas Waltz 148 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:35,360 Speaker 1: for reasons not entirely known. The year before her sudden 149 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:39,480 Speaker 1: foray into the mountains, Julia took in an elderly man 150 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: named Thomas Waltz who'd lost his home in the Great 151 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:47,120 Speaker 1: Salt River flood. The river, which runs through Phoenix and 152 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: to the north of the Superstitions, was the scene of 153 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 1: a disastrous flash flood in February eighteen ninety one, destroying 154 00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:58,560 Speaker 1: much of the small towns and communities that had grown 155 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:03,040 Speaker 1: up in its vicinity. After losing his home, the more 156 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: or less destitute Waltz was then struck down with pneumonia 157 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 1: and appears to have turned to Julia for help. The 158 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:14,600 Speaker 1: relationship would be short lived, however, when on the twenty 159 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:18,439 Speaker 1: fifth of October eighteen ninety one, the then eighty three 160 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:22,360 Speaker 1: year old Waltz succumbed to the infection and died in 161 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:27,680 Speaker 1: Julia's home. Within a year, Julia had sold up everything 162 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:39,079 Speaker 1: and struck out for the Superstitions. Julia Thomas would ultimately 163 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 1: fail in her quest to find what she was looking 164 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,800 Speaker 1: for after spending three weeks in the mountains, assisted by 165 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:51,439 Speaker 1: two brothers, Reinhardt and Hermann Patrasche, but slowly over time, 166 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:54,800 Speaker 1: the strange story of what compelled her to go there 167 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:59,160 Speaker 1: eventually eked out from the three of them, as they 168 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:03,400 Speaker 1: each claimed. Despite Waltz's financial predicament at the end of 169 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:07,319 Speaker 1: his life, in one way, he wasn't quite as destitute 170 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:11,400 Speaker 1: as he seemed, as he apparently explained to Julia late 171 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 1: one night in her home as he lay on his bed, 172 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:19,160 Speaker 1: only moments from death. It is said his tale began 173 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:23,079 Speaker 1: back when he was a younger man living in Sonora, Mexico, 174 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:27,000 Speaker 1: just south of Arizona, when he was introduced to someone 175 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:33,080 Speaker 1: named Miguel Parolta back in the early eighteen hundreds. The 176 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:36,280 Speaker 1: Parolta family are said to have established a number of 177 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:40,200 Speaker 1: mines in the Superstition Mountains, but when war broke out 178 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:43,720 Speaker 1: between Mexico and the United States in eighteen forty eight, 179 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:46,800 Speaker 1: the family faced the prospect of losing all of it. 180 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,079 Speaker 1: Fearing the imminent seeding of the territory to the States, 181 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: the Paroltas gathered as many people, wagons and mules they 182 00:12:55,520 --> 00:13:01,280 Speaker 1: could muster and swiftly headed into the mountains. However, after 183 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:05,520 Speaker 1: salvaging everything they could and sealing the mines behind them, 184 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:09,600 Speaker 1: shortly after setting off for home, the expedition team was 185 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: attacked and killed by a tribe of Dinnare. Since the 186 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 1: Dinare had no material use for the gold, it was 187 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:21,480 Speaker 1: simply left to lie where it fell. This story was 188 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:24,960 Speaker 1: apparently told to Thomas Waltz, who was also said to 189 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:28,079 Speaker 1: have been given a map by Miguel Parolta to help 190 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:32,720 Speaker 1: him recover the mines and their lost treasure. Sometime later, 191 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 1: Waltz is said to have traveled to Tucson, Arizona, where 192 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:42,559 Speaker 1: he shared the story with a man named Jacob Weisser. Then, together, 193 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:47,720 Speaker 1: the two men ventured into the superstitions, equipped with Parolta's 194 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 1: map and directions, and struck out towards Sombrero Butte more 195 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 1: commonly known as Weaver's Needle, at the foot of which 196 00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:59,720 Speaker 1: the entrance to the main mine was said to be 197 00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:04,920 Speaker 1: low kated. After slogging their way through endless clusters of 198 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:09,439 Speaker 1: cacti and yuca under the baking sun, the men apparently 199 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:12,959 Speaker 1: came across three other men breaking rocks at the foot 200 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:16,480 Speaker 1: of a narrow canyon at the precise spot they'd been 201 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:21,920 Speaker 1: searching for, believing them to be Native American, Waltz and Weisser, 202 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 1: who'd come prepared for just such a scenario, promptly opened fire, 203 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:31,400 Speaker 1: killing all three of them instantly. As one version of 204 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:34,520 Speaker 1: the story has it, the men in fact turned out 205 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 1: to be Mexican and former employees of Miguel Parolta who'd 206 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,000 Speaker 1: come back to the mountains secretly to find the gold 207 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:47,280 Speaker 1: for themselves. As for the two Jacobs, after discovering one 208 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: of Parolta's abandoned mines along with a significant stash of gold, 209 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:54,960 Speaker 1: they themselves were then ambushed by a group of Dinair. 210 00:14:56,120 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 1: Both managed somehow to escape, who got separated in the process. 211 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:05,800 Speaker 1: Waltz managed to return safely back to Phoenix, but Thomas 212 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:10,760 Speaker 1: Fiser was not so lucky, having been mortally wounded. He 213 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:13,480 Speaker 1: made it only as far as a nearby village of 214 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 1: the Native American Pima tribe. There, it is said he 215 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:21,600 Speaker 1: was taken in by former cavalryman and successful minor in 216 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:25,600 Speaker 1: his own right, John D. Walker, who owned a ranch nearby. 217 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:31,920 Speaker 1: A week later, Fiser died from his injuries. It isn't 218 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 1: known if Waltz managed to bring any gold back from 219 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:38,480 Speaker 1: the Superstitions, or if he ever returned to try again. 220 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:43,000 Speaker 1: What is known is that in August eighteen seventy eight, 221 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:48,560 Speaker 1: sometime later, Jacob Waltz effectively declared himself bankrupt and struck 222 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:51,880 Speaker 1: up a deal to sell all his possessions, including his home, 223 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:55,400 Speaker 1: for the modern equivalent of fifteen hundred U s. Dollars 224 00:15:55,960 --> 00:16:00,320 Speaker 1: to a man named Andrew Stura. Part of the deal 225 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 1: also required Sturah to look after Waltz should he ever 226 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:09,480 Speaker 1: become too old and infirm to look after himself. As such, 227 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 1: it seems unlikely that Waltz had brought any gold back 228 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 1: after the first attempt, being by then a tired and 229 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:22,160 Speaker 1: jaded sixty eight years old. It seems equally unlikely that 230 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: he ever made it back there, if the mine had 231 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,840 Speaker 1: even existed at all before his death in eighteen ninety one, 232 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:34,120 Speaker 1: As rumors of the mine began to spread following Julia 233 00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 1: Thomas's failed attempts to find it, many began to question 234 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:41,600 Speaker 1: if it wasn't all one big hoax, or perhaps whether 235 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: it wasn't a mine at all up there, but simply 236 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:48,000 Speaker 1: a stash of looted and abandoned gold also known as 237 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:54,040 Speaker 1: massacre gold, that Waltz and Weisser had discovered. Julia Thomas, however, 238 00:16:54,640 --> 00:17:05,919 Speaker 1: remained convinced that the mine was there, despite being burned 239 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:09,200 Speaker 1: by her first attempt to find the mine, Julia Thomas 240 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:12,480 Speaker 1: continued to raise money and support for a second bite 241 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:15,760 Speaker 1: at the cherry, but was ultimately unable to return to 242 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:21,119 Speaker 1: the mountains. Then, in eighteen ninety four, perhaps wounded by 243 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 1: accusations that she'd been sucked in by nothing but a 244 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:29,200 Speaker 1: tall tale from a dying deluded old man, Thomas took 245 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:33,360 Speaker 1: the extraordinary move to publish the exact details that Waltz 246 00:17:33,359 --> 00:17:37,880 Speaker 1: had told her. Explaining all to the editor of Phoenix's 247 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:42,480 Speaker 1: Saturday Evening Review, she revealed where the mine could be found. 248 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:47,439 Speaker 1: It was, she claimed, located near a two room house 249 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:49,960 Speaker 1: that lay in the mouth of a cave on the 250 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:54,000 Speaker 1: side of a slope, near a particular gulch in the superstitions, 251 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:59,040 Speaker 1: just across the gulch, she continued, about two hundred yards 252 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:02,639 Speaker 1: opposite the house in the cave was a tunnel, well 253 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:07,480 Speaker 1: covered and concealed by bushes. This mine was the richest 254 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:13,560 Speaker 1: in the world, according to Dutch Jacob. Confusingly, Jacob Waltz, 255 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:17,560 Speaker 1: who was of German heritage, was called Dutch Jacob, owing 256 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:20,879 Speaker 1: to the fact that Dutch was an Anglicized version of 257 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:25,280 Speaker 1: the word Deutsch, meaning German in English. Hence the phrase 258 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:28,360 Speaker 1: lost Dutchman's Mine, as it would come to be known. 259 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:33,479 Speaker 1: Julia then offered also that some distance above the tunnel, 260 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:36,960 Speaker 1: a little further up the mountain, was a small shaft 261 00:18:37,119 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: that led directly into the mine, from which you could 262 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:45,480 Speaker 1: easily reach the rich gold ledge inside. Once there, it 263 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:49,040 Speaker 1: was possible to simply pick flakes off the ridge of 264 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:54,960 Speaker 1: almost pure gold. In the years following Julia's incredible proclamation, 265 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:58,639 Speaker 1: many more attempts to find the mine were made, but 266 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:02,800 Speaker 1: despite some believing they'd got close, no one was able 267 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:07,639 Speaker 1: to claim it. Then, more than thirty years later, in 268 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:18,960 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty one, one man finally did. Possibly. One lesser 269 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: known fact about Unexplained is that it actually started life 270 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:25,360 Speaker 1: as a website built through square Space, which I heard 271 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:28,360 Speaker 1: about from an advert on one of my favorite podcasts. 272 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:31,840 Speaker 1: Having no idea where to even begin with publishing my own, 273 00:19:32,119 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 1: it was only when I realized how easy it would 274 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,919 Speaker 1: be with square Space that I finally went ahead and 275 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 1: did it. 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Go to squarespace dot com 288 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 1: forward slash unexplained for a free trial, and when you're 289 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:30,160 Speaker 1: ready to launch, use the offer code unexplained to save 290 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:33,399 Speaker 1: ten percent of your first purchase of a website or domain. 291 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:42,560 Speaker 1: In many ways. Adolph Ruth's story is the archetype or 292 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:46,960 Speaker 1: tale of the American dream. Born in eighteen sixty four, 293 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:50,120 Speaker 1: Ruth is thought to have emigrated to the US from 294 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 1: Germany around eighteen eighty in search of a better life 295 00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:59,200 Speaker 1: for himself. In eighteen eighty eight, Ruth and his second wife, 296 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:02,480 Speaker 1: with whom he had two children, moved out to Kansas 297 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 1: to become farmers. When this venture failed, he set up 298 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:10,199 Speaker 1: a barber shop and used his spare time to attend 299 00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:14,240 Speaker 1: veterinary college, which in turn led eventually to a solid 300 00:21:14,359 --> 00:21:18,399 Speaker 1: job working for the US Department of Agriculture Bureau of 301 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:23,520 Speaker 1: Animal Industry. But what really excited Ruth was the idea 302 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:31,000 Speaker 1: of lost treasure, in particular lost gold mines. In nineteen thirteen, 303 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:34,360 Speaker 1: he received a letter that would change his life for ever, 304 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:38,800 Speaker 1: sent by his then twenty six year old son, Erwin. 305 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:44,879 Speaker 1: It detailed an unbelievable story. Erwin, who despite having trained 306 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:47,640 Speaker 1: as a vet like his father, was working in far 307 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:52,160 Speaker 1: Texas managing a car dealership and had somehow befriended an 308 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:55,600 Speaker 1: officer of the Mexican Rebel Army, who were embroiled in 309 00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:59,880 Speaker 1: an attempted revolution at the time. Having discovered that Erwin 310 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:03,440 Speaker 1: was a vet, the officer offered him a job trying 311 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:06,720 Speaker 1: to cure Texas tick fever in the livestock that his 312 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:11,679 Speaker 1: army were capturing during their various military excursions. With the 313 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:15,879 Speaker 1: fever eradicated, the livestock could then be sold to buy weapons. 314 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:20,720 Speaker 1: Irwin agreed to take the job. A few months later, 315 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,360 Speaker 1: while working in the rebel army's camp, he was apparently 316 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:27,960 Speaker 1: recognized by a prisoner who the army had recently captured 317 00:22:28,359 --> 00:22:31,160 Speaker 1: who claimed to have once taught Spanish to Irwin at 318 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:35,680 Speaker 1: his high school. The man named Gonzalez, who was due 319 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,160 Speaker 1: to be executed, pleaded with Irwin to help him get 320 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:43,480 Speaker 1: his family back safely to Mexico. For payment, he was 321 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:46,560 Speaker 1: to ask Gonzales's wife to hand over a set of 322 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:50,440 Speaker 1: maps revealing a series of long abandoned minds that had 323 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:55,399 Speaker 1: once belonged to the Gonzalez family. Taking pity on the man, 324 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:59,080 Speaker 1: Irwin accepted the offer and Julie carried out the task. 325 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:03,760 Speaker 1: Sure enough, the man's wife gave him the maps in return. 326 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:09,200 Speaker 1: After conducting a preliminary scout of the area detailed in 327 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:12,760 Speaker 1: the maps, Irwin then wrote to his father, telling him 328 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,879 Speaker 1: that the landscape and natural way points of the place, 329 00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:21,119 Speaker 1: an area located in the Brego Desert in California, correlated 330 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:33,720 Speaker 1: perfectly with the maps. On Wednesday, December seventeenth, nineteen nineteen, 331 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:38,359 Speaker 1: Adolf and Irwin struck out for the Brego Desert equipped 332 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:43,119 Speaker 1: with little more than their Model T Forward car. After 333 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:46,439 Speaker 1: getting caught up one too many times in the deep sand, 334 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:50,440 Speaker 1: Adolf growled the maps from the dashboard and jumped out 335 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:53,240 Speaker 1: of the car. Vowing to walk the rest of the way, 336 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 1: after all, as he said, it didn't look that far 337 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:03,160 Speaker 1: away on the map. Despite his son's protestations, Adolf promptly 338 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:08,480 Speaker 1: disappeared over the horizon. The following day, he was discovered 339 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,800 Speaker 1: at the bottom of a canyon, having fallen badly and 340 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:16,080 Speaker 1: broken his thigh bone. The injury was so bad it 341 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 1: required having his legs shortened to fix it, leaving him 342 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:24,159 Speaker 1: with a permanent limp. Five years later, he was forced 343 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,640 Speaker 1: to retire from his job due to the injury, all 344 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:30,479 Speaker 1: of which gave him more time to devote to his 345 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:36,880 Speaker 1: true passion, hunting for the lost minds. However, despite numerous 346 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,640 Speaker 1: visits to the Berego Desert, he and his son were 347 00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:45,720 Speaker 1: unable to find the old Gonzales claims. It was sometime 348 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:49,400 Speaker 1: in the late nineteen twenties, while looking once more through 349 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:52,840 Speaker 1: all the maps they'd been given, that Adolf noticed a 350 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:56,600 Speaker 1: much smaller map that neither he or Erwin had paid 351 00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:02,120 Speaker 1: much attention to before. After asking Gonzalis's widow about it, 352 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 1: she explained that the map was in fact related to 353 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:09,440 Speaker 1: an entirely different set of minds that once belonged to 354 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:15,360 Speaker 1: her husband's cousins. The Paroltas. These minds, she said, were 355 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:21,000 Speaker 1: located somewhere in the Superstition Mountains. Back at his home 356 00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:25,360 Speaker 1: close to Washington, DC, with a flush of excitement, Adolf 357 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,240 Speaker 1: consulted the scrapbook of notes and articles that he'd collected 358 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:32,880 Speaker 1: over the years concerning all the lost mining claims he'd 359 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:37,640 Speaker 1: come across and pulled out one of the articles written 360 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:42,479 Speaker 1: back in eighteen ninety four in the Phoenix Saturday Evening Review. 361 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:46,840 Speaker 1: It purported to detail the precise location of the Lost 362 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:52,879 Speaker 1: Dutchman's mine. According to one Julia Thomas, Adolf sat back 363 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:58,320 Speaker 1: completely dumb struck. His map and the article appeared to 364 00:25:58,359 --> 00:26:09,359 Speaker 1: be describing the exact same spot. In mid May nineteen 365 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:13,600 Speaker 1: thirty one, despite protests from his wife and children, but 366 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:17,560 Speaker 1: then sixty seven year old Adolf Ruth set off in 367 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:22,560 Speaker 1: search of the great Lost Dutchman. After nine days of driving, 368 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:27,000 Speaker 1: he eventually pulled in to tex Berkeley's Quarter Circle You ranch, 369 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:30,320 Speaker 1: close to Bark's Canyon at the northern edge of the 370 00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:36,040 Speaker 1: Superstition Mountains. The numerous ranch hands stared on quizzically from 371 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:39,560 Speaker 1: under the brim of their hats as Adolf limped clumsily 372 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:43,639 Speaker 1: from the stylish two door Essex he'd purchased for the journey, 373 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:47,399 Speaker 1: dressed in a full pinstriped suit with a steel brace 374 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:51,000 Speaker 1: clasped about his waist that ran all the way down 375 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:54,880 Speaker 1: to the heel of his injured leg. It was all 376 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:58,080 Speaker 1: Texts could do to stifle a laugh when the five 377 00:26:58,119 --> 00:27:01,560 Speaker 1: foot five Adolf and now that he'd come seeking the 378 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:05,000 Speaker 1: lost Dutchman's Treasure and was looking for some one to 379 00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:09,840 Speaker 1: escort him into the mountains from there, he said he 380 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:13,480 Speaker 1: would make the rest of the journey alone on foot. 381 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:19,800 Speaker 1: After realizing just how serious Ruth was, however, Techs reluctantly 382 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:23,240 Speaker 1: agreed to help. After fobbing him off for the best 383 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 1: part of a month, Techs finally promised to take him 384 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:28,760 Speaker 1: up when he returned from a cattle drive he was 385 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:33,240 Speaker 1: due to participate in. No sooner had he left the ranch, however, 386 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:37,720 Speaker 1: Adolf drove to another of Berkeley's ranches, where he convinced 387 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:41,879 Speaker 1: two of his employees, Leroy Purnell and Jack Keenan, to 388 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:45,480 Speaker 1: escort him into the mountains instead in return for payment 389 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:48,639 Speaker 1: and the free use of his stylish car while he 390 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:52,560 Speaker 1: was gone. And so it was that early in the 391 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: morning of June thirteenth, the three men mounted horses and 392 00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:00,560 Speaker 1: trekked up into the mountains, where at Willow Spring in 393 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:05,520 Speaker 1: West Boulder Canyon, roughly two miles from Weaver's Needle. Pernell 394 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:09,600 Speaker 1: and Keenan left Ruth to set up his camp, agreeing 395 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:11,800 Speaker 1: to come back in a few days to check on 396 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:16,560 Speaker 1: his progress. It was four days later that TEXS. Berkeley 397 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:20,600 Speaker 1: returned to the ranch, horrified to find that Adolf had 398 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:24,720 Speaker 1: gone into the mountains without him. Scared for his safety, 399 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:28,640 Speaker 1: he demanded Pernell and Keenan go back immediately and pull 400 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:32,000 Speaker 1: him out, but when they arrived at his camp a 401 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,480 Speaker 1: few hours later, though most of Adolf's things were there, 402 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:38,760 Speaker 1: it was clear that the man himself had not been 403 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:43,680 Speaker 1: for some time. Over the next few days, Berkeley, Pernell, 404 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:47,719 Speaker 1: and Keenan searched endlessly for Ruth, but were eventually forced 405 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:51,480 Speaker 1: to alert local sheriff Chester Magee when they couldn't find him. 406 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:55,720 Speaker 1: On June twenty fifth, the sheriff led a posse into 407 00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:59,160 Speaker 1: the mountains to continue the search, but they too left 408 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:04,520 Speaker 1: empty handed. A few days later, Adolf's son, Erwin, arrived 409 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:08,680 Speaker 1: to help, but despite everyone's best efforts, including the use 410 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:11,880 Speaker 1: of a spot a plane, and photographer donated by the 411 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:17,560 Speaker 1: Arizona Republic newspaper. Adolf Ruth was nowhere to be found. 412 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:26,239 Speaker 1: Is there something interfering with your happiness or preventing you 413 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:29,640 Speaker 1: from achieving your goals? Better Help will assess your needs 414 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,960 Speaker 1: and match you with your own licensed professional therapist. Sign 415 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,000 Speaker 1: up today and start communicating in less than forty eight hours. 416 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:39,480 Speaker 1: You'll get timely and thoughtful responses. Plus, you can schedule 417 00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:42,120 Speaker 1: weekly video or phone sessions so you won't ever have 418 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:44,960 Speaker 1: to sit in an uncomfortable waiting room. You can also 419 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,680 Speaker 1: log into your account any time to send a message 420 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:50,920 Speaker 1: to your counselor. Better Help is not a crisis line 421 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:55,240 Speaker 1: nor self help. It is professional counseling done securely online, 422 00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:58,600 Speaker 1: with a broad range of expertise available, and with better 423 00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:02,360 Speaker 1: helps commitment to facility hating great therapeutic matches, they make 424 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:05,680 Speaker 1: it especially easy and free to change counselors to help 425 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:08,760 Speaker 1: you find the right fit. This podcast is sponsored by 426 00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:11,800 Speaker 1: better Help and Unexplained. Listeners get ten percent off their 427 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:16,280 Speaker 1: first month at betterhelp dot com. Forward slash Unexplained, that's 428 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:21,240 Speaker 1: better help dot com. Forward slash Unexplained joined the over 429 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:24,120 Speaker 1: one million people taking charge of their mental health with 430 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:27,880 Speaker 1: the help of an experienced professional. Better Help wants you 431 00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:36,240 Speaker 1: to start living a happier life today. It was some 432 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:41,040 Speaker 1: six months later in December, when a team of archaeologists 433 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:44,920 Speaker 1: led by Odd Halsyth undertook a research trip into the 434 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:51,360 Speaker 1: Superstitions looking for evidence of early Native American civilizations. As 435 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:54,680 Speaker 1: a heavy rain began to fall, one of the team's dogs, 436 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:58,120 Speaker 1: who they'd brought to ward off mountain lions, darted off 437 00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:01,640 Speaker 1: in the direction of a lone pala Verde tree at 438 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:05,080 Speaker 1: the top of a slight ridge. As it scrabbled about 439 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:10,040 Speaker 1: in the dirt, Hulesyth walked over to investigate. Smelling a 440 00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:13,680 Speaker 1: sudden stench of something rotten in the air, he looked 441 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:16,560 Speaker 1: down in horror at the sight of a human skull 442 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:20,640 Speaker 1: half buried in the sand, with flecks of meat still 443 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:24,560 Speaker 1: clinging to the bone. When he pulled it out, he 444 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:28,120 Speaker 1: was even more horrified to find what looked like two 445 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:32,640 Speaker 1: huge bullet wounds on either side of the cranium. Though 446 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:35,720 Speaker 1: Halsyth had little doubt it was the skull of Adolph Ruth, 447 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:39,320 Speaker 1: he had it sent off to the Smithsonian Institute in 448 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:42,880 Speaker 1: the hope that someone there could provide a positive identification. 449 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:49,240 Speaker 1: Sure enough, Head Curator of Physical anthropology, doctor Alex Heard Litzka, 450 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:53,200 Speaker 1: confirmed not only that the skull was that of Roots, 451 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:56,280 Speaker 1: but also that the holes in it were indeed the 452 00:31:56,320 --> 00:32:01,160 Speaker 1: result of a bullet related trauma used under A month later, 453 00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:06,040 Speaker 1: on January eighth, Tex Berkeley and former sheriff Jeff Adams 454 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:09,959 Speaker 1: were conducting a final search for Ruth's remains when they 455 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,760 Speaker 1: came across a scattering of bones in loose, torn clothing 456 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:16,880 Speaker 1: about three quarters of a mile from where the skull 457 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:20,640 Speaker 1: had been found. Though the hands and feet were missing, 458 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:25,000 Speaker 1: most likely taken by scavenging animals, they were able to 459 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:29,440 Speaker 1: identify Ruth from his wallet, watch, and gun which had 460 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:33,160 Speaker 1: not been fired, that were also found at the scene. 461 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:38,240 Speaker 1: Along with the remains and personal possessions, they also found 462 00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:43,400 Speaker 1: two documents, one being a topographic chart of the surrounding 463 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:47,240 Speaker 1: region and the other away bill on which a few 464 00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:51,560 Speaker 1: notes had been written describing apparent directions to the lost mine. 465 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:56,440 Speaker 1: Along with those notes was also scrawled in Adolf's handwriting 466 00:32:56,840 --> 00:33:03,360 Speaker 1: the phrase venni fiddi vici, which of course translates tantalizingly 467 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:16,320 Speaker 1: to I came, I saw I conquered one thing that 468 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:20,280 Speaker 1: was not found among Ruth's possessions or with his remains 469 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:23,880 Speaker 1: was the Gonzales Paroltar map, as it came to be 470 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:27,000 Speaker 1: known that he'd taken into the mountains with him to 471 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:31,680 Speaker 1: help locate the lost Dutchman's mine. This, along with the 472 00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:35,680 Speaker 1: enigmatic line he'd written on the waybill, quite possibly the 473 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:39,080 Speaker 1: last thing he ever wrote, has led some to speculate 474 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:42,840 Speaker 1: that Ruth actually succeeded in finding the gold mine, but 475 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:46,040 Speaker 1: was then murdered as a result and had the map 476 00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:52,360 Speaker 1: stolen from him. Some suspected Leroy Pernell and Jack Keenan, 477 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:55,040 Speaker 1: who in the end were forced to flee the region 478 00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:58,720 Speaker 1: due to the stress, with Pernell moving back to Utah 479 00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:04,720 Speaker 1: and Keenan heading back home to Oklahoma. Thirty five years later, 480 00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:09,520 Speaker 1: Keenan's widow appeared to confirm the suspicion to private detective 481 00:34:09,640 --> 00:34:13,799 Speaker 1: Glenn mc gill, who undertook his own unsuccessful odyssey in 482 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:17,880 Speaker 1: search of the mine in the sixties and seventies, telling 483 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:21,239 Speaker 1: him that, you know, my husband and his partner were 484 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:25,680 Speaker 1: never able to find the mine even with mister Ruth's maps. 485 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:29,839 Speaker 1: Mc gill took this as an admission that the men 486 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:34,440 Speaker 1: had murdered Ruth. Others, however, believed they simply stole the 487 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:39,680 Speaker 1: map when they found Ruth's campsite deserted. Doctor heard Litzger's 488 00:34:39,680 --> 00:34:43,000 Speaker 1: assessment that Ruth was shot in the head has also 489 00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:46,800 Speaker 1: been questioned, with some suggesting the injuries were in fact 490 00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:50,960 Speaker 1: far more consistent with general weathering and more likely the 491 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:54,560 Speaker 1: result of the skull being buffeted against rocks as it 492 00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:59,280 Speaker 1: was dragged about by rain, water and animals, especially since 493 00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:02,399 Speaker 1: it had already most likely become separated from the rest 494 00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:07,879 Speaker 1: of the skeleton after being scavenged by mountain lions. Though 495 00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:11,799 Speaker 1: the absolute truth will remain a mystery, both the Maricopa 496 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:15,960 Speaker 1: and Pinal County Sheriff's Office concluded Ruth had died from 497 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:20,319 Speaker 1: natural causes. As for whether he found the mine or not, 498 00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:26,560 Speaker 1: that two remains a mystery. One thing's for sure. He 499 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:30,040 Speaker 1: was certainly not the last person to try and find it, 500 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:32,880 Speaker 1: nor the last to lose his life in the process. 501 00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:44,640 Speaker 1: Despite Adolph Ruth's death, his story seemed only to generate 502 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:48,640 Speaker 1: further interest in the lost Dutchman, and one after another, 503 00:35:49,239 --> 00:35:53,360 Speaker 1: the people came in search of fame and fortune, hoping 504 00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:57,040 Speaker 1: beyond hope to be the first to crack the mystery, 505 00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:01,160 Speaker 1: and time and time again, many of them failed to 506 00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:05,880 Speaker 1: make it out alive. All in all, it's rumored that 507 00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:09,440 Speaker 1: as many as six hundred people have died searching for it, 508 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:15,080 Speaker 1: but still they keep coming. One day, in late November 509 00:36:15,239 --> 00:36:20,440 Speaker 1: twenty twelve, three years after Jesse Capon's disappearance, members of 510 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:24,239 Speaker 1: the Superstition Search and Rescue Team, scouring an area of 511 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:28,200 Speaker 1: Tortier Mountain in the Superstitions, about half a mile from 512 00:36:28,239 --> 00:36:31,640 Speaker 1: where Capon's white jeep and abandoned camp had been found, 513 00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:35,680 Speaker 1: spotted a boot sticking out of a crevice about thirty 514 00:36:35,719 --> 00:36:40,680 Speaker 1: five feet upper cliff face. Inside the crevice, attached to 515 00:36:40,719 --> 00:36:46,640 Speaker 1: the boot, the rescue team discovered Capon's remains. It has 516 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:50,120 Speaker 1: been suggested that he simply slipped off the cliff after 517 00:36:50,160 --> 00:36:53,000 Speaker 1: getting lost on the way back to his campsite in 518 00:36:53,040 --> 00:36:58,359 Speaker 1: the dark. It has thought that Jacob Waltz, if he'd 519 00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:01,120 Speaker 1: even been given the location of any such mine in 520 00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:05,040 Speaker 1: the first place, most likely first discovered it sometime in 521 00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:09,560 Speaker 1: the eighteen sixties or seventies, then, for whatever reason, never 522 00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:15,520 Speaker 1: went back. If so, Waltz's apparently intricately drawn out directions 523 00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:18,319 Speaker 1: of how to find the treasure will also have been 524 00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:23,879 Speaker 1: conceived around the same time. Some years later, in May 525 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:27,640 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty seven, only a few years before his death 526 00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:32,400 Speaker 1: and Julia Thomas's unsuccessful efforts that appeared to have started 527 00:37:32,400 --> 00:37:36,960 Speaker 1: the whole treasure hunt off, the Superstition Mountains were rocked 528 00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:41,600 Speaker 1: by an almighty earthquake that shook the ground with tremendous violence. 529 00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:45,880 Speaker 1: Anyone nearby at the time would have looked up in 530 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:49,600 Speaker 1: shock at the sight of huge slabs of rock falling 531 00:37:49,719 --> 00:37:53,759 Speaker 1: from the jagged tops of the surrounding peaks, and any 532 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:58,240 Speaker 1: who ventured in soon after, particularly close to Weaver's Needle, 533 00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:01,480 Speaker 1: near to where the mine was supposed to be located, 534 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:06,200 Speaker 1: would have found a landscape significantly changed from the time 535 00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:10,840 Speaker 1: before the earthquake struck, the time in which Waltz is 536 00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:14,919 Speaker 1: said to have so carefully laid out his instructions on 537 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:24,680 Speaker 1: where exactly the gold mine could be found. If you 538 00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:27,520 Speaker 1: enjoy Unexplained and would like to help supporters, you can 539 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:30,799 Speaker 1: now do so via Patreon. To receive access to add 540 00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:34,560 Speaker 1: three episodes, Just go to patron dot com forward slash 541 00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:38,600 Speaker 1: Unexplained Pod to sign up. Unexplained. The book and audiobook 542 00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:41,680 Speaker 1: featuring ten stories that have never before been covered on 543 00:38:41,719 --> 00:38:45,279 Speaker 1: the show, is now available to buy worldwide. You can 544 00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:49,759 Speaker 1: purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Waterstones, among other bookstores. 545 00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:53,840 Speaker 1: All elements of Unexplained, including the show's music, are produced 546 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:57,160 Speaker 1: by me Richard McClain smith. 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