In addition, Victorio Peak lay on land owned by the state of New Mexico, and removal of gold without permission of the state violated New Mexico law.4. Seventy-nine skeletons were described in an adjacent cavern. In effect, no one could mine the treasure, and that included the Army and Babe Noss. Ova Noss, her two sons, Harold and Marvin, and her two daughters, Letha and Dorothy, helped Doc in the strenuous task of removing the bars, one at a time, from the depths of the peak. Topic at Watergate Hearings. ", 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. Finally, others believe that the treasures were hidden by Chief Victorio, for whom the peak is named. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. This Massive Mine in Utah Has Produced More Gold than Most States! He also told his wife that there were enough gold and silver coins to load 60 to 80 mules.. Doc tried several times to regain entry into his mine, but the shaft was sealed with tons of debris. Then in 1981, the construction crew found the gold bar, and today scientists have confirmed it was part of the Aztec treasures that Cortes hoped to steal away from Mexico for Spain. This was shortly before a much-publicized expedition, entitled Operation Goldfinder, took place at the site in March 1977. 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. [1][a] While there have been multiple documented expeditions to the peak, no gold has been officially recorded as being recovered from the site. The rate of this tax varies from 5.125% to 8.8675% depending on where the business is . He said I'll get F.D.R. He has recruited friends and investors to form the Ova Noss Family Partnership, named for his late grandmother, that is financing the new search. When it began to rain, Doc sought shelter under a rocky overhang near the mountains summit. A new scientific analysis of a large gold bar found decades ago in downtown Mexico City has confirmed it was part of the plunder Spanish conquistadors abandoned as they beat a temporary. In one room he discovered a large stash of old swords and guns, papers and letters from the 19th century, and a kings ransom in jewels and coins. History [ edit] Doc Noss The treasure was allegedly found in 1937 by American businessman and gold prospector Milton Ernest "Doc" Noss. CNN Almost four decades ago, a gold bar was found on land that used to be Aztec ruins in Mexico. White Sands, New Mexico by the National Park Service. 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. Maxmillian was assassinated in 1867. Led by U.S. Air Force Captain Leonard V. Fiege, the four had done extensive research on Victorio Peak, poring over old documents and records, and even traveling south into Mexico to check stories there regarding a man who has often been linked with the origin of the gold, Padre Philip La Rue. Army spokesmen have consistently dismissed all reports of Victorio Peak gold as rumors. An apparent propaganda campaign, in fact, has been conducted for many years by the Army in order to dispel these reports and to keep treasure seekers away from the missile range. He was also known to take prisoners back to the Basin, where he subjected them to elaborate torture tests before killing them. And for good reason. By this time, Babes story had spread across the nation, profiled in several magazines and newspapers. Representative Harold Runnels, a Democrat whose district includes the White Sands range, has proposed a joint Federalstate search for the treasure. Noss refused to obey, and Ryan fired again, hitting Noss in the head, killing him instantly. The gold was then shipped to Switzerland and sold in a new form in Zurich. However, Terry Delongas stated, Were not accusing the military of stealing the gold, but I do feel that the Department of the Army in the 1960s treated my grandmother unfairly However, weve worked very hard over the years to establish a working relationship with the military, and were certainly not going to jeopardize that by accusing them of theft.. 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. The gold concentrates by gravity in incised stream valleys and alluvial fans in deeply weathered highlands. Try as he would, Captain Fiege could not penetrate the opening he had used just three years earlier. He worked with a succession of partners, the last of whom, Charlie Ryan of Alice, Texas, shot and killed Noss in an altercation in Hatch, New Mexico, on March 5, 1949. Later, Fiege would take a lie detector test, which would allow Fiege back on the missile range. The Lue Map has very strange symbols. 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. He estimated the total amount of gold coming from the peak at a staggering 96 million troy ounces, worth, at $320 an ounce, nearly $31 billion. In the spring of 1938, Doc Noss and Babe went to Santa Fe to establish legal ownership of the find, filing a lease with the State of New Mexico for the entire section of land surrounding Victorio Peak. He stood guard while McDonald and the other man descended into a large cavern, returning with a crudely formed gold bar roughly 2 1/2 inches wide by 7 inches long. 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 gold, he said, was removed and smelted into old Mexican bars, 50-pound bars. The gold in its new form, he noted, had no marks to identify its origin. Fearing Doc was getting a gun, Ryan fired a warning shot in Docs direction, demanding that Noss back away from the vehicle. His warriors raided southern New Mexico and Texasin an all-out war against the U.S. Army and the Texas Rangers. Doc thought that he had discovered an old abandoned mineshaft. After telling her what he had seen and shown her the loot, she insisted he go back into the mine for one of the iron bars. Kathy Weiser-Alexander/Legends of America, updated November 2021. 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. Sensing a double-cross by Ryan, Doc dug up the gold that was to be used in the exchange and reburied it in a place where Ryan was unaware. He used too much dynamite, and the cave collapsed, sealing in the treasure. Passing through the large cavern, he came to a series of smaller caves rooms, he called them. Within moments he found more skeletons, most of them bound and secured to stakes like the first. Peak and look, accompanied by the missile range commander, Maj. Gen. John G. Shinkle, military pblicemen and Treasury agents. Although the originals have never been recovered, a copy of one of the documents proved to be a translation from Pope Pius III. They even brought in their own security guards, he added. Under the direction of Mr. Delonas, the searchers have been analyzing their findings in a temporary office at Las Cruces, about 25 miles south of Victoria Peak. There were thousands of them, covered with old, dusty buffalo hides. However, the expert won the argument. 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. The military claim stemmed from a statement made by New Mexico officials on November 14, 1951, which withdrew prospecting, entry, location, and purchase under the mining laws, reserving the land for military use only. And a fourth story, pieced together recently by Howard Bryan, a reporter for The Albuquerque Tribune, centers on another Apache war chief named Victorio. There were 110 gold bars moved that night, according to an affidavit obtained by this writer and sworn to by Jolley. After some discussion, the men decided that Porter should take the bar to a close friend of his who worked in the provost marshals office in nearby Fort Bliss, Texas. An investigation by Freedom has probed the history of that region, particularly the nearly 49 years since gold bars were first found in that area in November 1937 by a man named Milton Ernest "Doc" Noss, as fascinating a character as ever held a six-gun. The peak is riddled with a network of tunnels. After the death of Doc Noss, Ova and her family continued efforts to regain access to the big treasure room. The cave was covering a small tunnel, originally thought to be an abandoned mineshaft. In November 1937, Doc, Babe, and four others left on a deer hunt into the Hembrillo Basin. Berlett and Fiege formed a corporation to protect what they had found and make a formal application to enter White Sands for a search and retrieval of the gold. Mr. Noss returned in the late 1940's with a new wife, and a business partner. Sam Scott, for example, a retired airline pilot, was warned in 1977 to keep clear of anything regarding Victorio Peak for at least five years under pain of having his home firebombed and his wife and daughter killed. 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. Anyone can read what you share. It could finally solve the mystery. For three months beginning on June 20, 1963, the group used various techniques to search the area; however, they failed to turn up anything. Another source confirmed the manner and the circumstances of E.M. Guthries death, noting that it was listed as just a natural death, but hed been worked over with a baseball bat. This source said that he had hired a team of experienced investigators to dig into Guthries death and more than 30 other deaths in connection with a massive, continuing cover-up of the removal of gold from Victorio Peak. Forrest Fenn, a New Mexico art collector, created a treasure hunt in 2010. Begrudgingly, he did so. After discovering the treasure, Doc and Babe spent every free moment exploring the tunnels inside the mountain, living in a tent at the base of the peak. The bars that Noss and his crew removed from Victorio Peak were, in general, crudely formed, indicating the use of primitive smelting processes. He said he often grew angry that his grandmother was ignored or ridiculed for her efforts. A gold bar found in a Mexico City park in 1981 was part of the Aztec treasure looted by Hernan Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors 500 years ago, a new study says. Mr. Noss's ex-wife was barred from searching in the 1950's, when the Army extended the White Sands borders to include Victorio Peak. 7 Louisiana Ghost Towns Hidden Deep in the Bayou. Decades of Searching. 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. The reported treasure and efforts to find it have been covered in books and on television, including: On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Attacking wagon trains, settlements, mail coaches, and churches, he took anything from them that they valued. A narrow passage through rocks kept the bulky Porter from following the other two men into the depths of the peak. Discovered by a . Too much evidence supports the treasure, including photographs, affidavits, and relics held by the Noss family. White Sands is the nation's largest military installation, about the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined. And we were poor and I guess a little dumb. Noss divorced her, charging desertion. No one in the provost marshals office to whom Porter talked would admit to knowing anything about the gold, and he was warned by the provost marshal that any future trespassing would be dealt with severely. Another concerns renegades who robbed the Monterey Mint in 1743 and were in turn attacked by Apaches. About $250,000 was spent, core holes were drilled, seismic tests were taken, and nothing was found. Lost Treasures, Recent Posts. hell, I'll get Eleanor.. In 1939, he hired a mining engineer to try to open a wider passage into Victorio Peak, but the attempt was disastrous and there was a massive cave-in. McGuires Place In 1933, he married Ova Babe Beckworth, and the two settled down in Hot Springs, New Mexico, which later changed its name to Truth or Consequences. Lampros later signed sworn affidavits regarding their experiences. The treasure was allegedly found in 1937 by American businessman and gold prospector Milton Ernest "Doc" Noss. In 1955, the missile range was expanded and, the Army closed Victoria Peak to outsiders. For Trademark Information on Scientology Services. Mr. Mitchell is said to have forwarded the matter to the White House. But the legend of the hidden gold was fueled again during the Watergate hearings in 1973. On the walls were drawings, some painted and others chiseled, that appeared to have been made by Indians. In 1979, Babe died without ever finding the treasure. Finally reaching the bottom, Doc stepped into a chamber the size of a small room. All attempts failed, leaving him an embittered and angry man, which caused problems in his marriage. Reached for comment in Cocoa Beach, Florida, General Shinkle adamantly denied any knowledge of the gold and refused to comment at all on the story. He also asserts that military security officers censored out of his report all references to military searches for the treasure. The buying entity was a Middle Eastern principal, Shriver said. 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. After scraping a small section of the bar clean, she exclaimed, Doc, this is gold!. The cloud of death shrouding Victorio Peak has reached far. As Doc continued to explore the side caverns, he found a hoard of treasure, including coins, jewels, saddles, and priceless artifacts, including a gold statue of the Virgin Mary. Mrs. Noss now says she never heard about the divorce and as serts that she is his legal widow. Leon Trabuco brought Mexico's gold to the US He buried 16 tons of gold bars in New Mexico CASE DETAILS Farmington, New Mexico, 1933. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. After the discovery, Fiege told several people that he had caved in the roof and walls to make it look like the tunnel ended. Gold bullion bars are struck continuously to meet the demand for gold, with the following refineries and mints representing some of the greatest refiners of gold bars: Credit Suisse PAMP Suisse Republic Metals Corporation Sunshine Minting Valcambi Suisse Buying Gold Bullion from JM Bullion Ova convinced Doc to return to the big cave and bring one of the heavy bars back up. Edward Atkins of Decatur, Illinois, had been a claimant to the peaks gold and was vigorously pursuing that claim via attorney Darrell Holmes of Athens, Georgia, when Holmes died under mysterious circumstances. Two local ranch workers stumbled upon the search and notified Mrs. Noss. The higher gold values occur near the base of alluvial gravel deposits where the gold is trapped by natural processes such as riffles in the river bottom, fractures within the bedrock, along bedding or foliation planes, and/or structures that are transverse to the river flow. Joe Andregg, an electrician from Santa Fe, New Mexico, reflected on the days when he worked with Doc Noss in the late 1930s. He did, only to find that in the short, three-day interim the major had been whisked away, transferred to the Pentagon. As far as I'm concerned, I've got more gold in my upper bridge than is in those mountains., The center of interest is Victoria Peak, a 1,500foot hill in the San Andres Mountains on missile range land about 25 miles northeast of Las Cruces. All told, he reportedly found 27 human skeletons in the caverns of the mountain. In September 1961, Berlett and Fiege swore to the specifics of their discovery in detailed affidavits provided to federal officials. He told this writer that the gold bars in the cave were stacked like cordwood.. On the night of September 1, 1968, Porter drove to the peak with a friend and a civilian security guard from White Sands Missile Range named Clarence McDonald. A deal with a man named Charlie Ryan went south, and Noss was gunned down. Over the weekend, he said, someone found the chest he had buried with gold nuggets, coins, gems and artifacts. Meanwhile, Noss's mining claims (for talc as a disguise) expired in 1948, and Mrs. Noss renewed them in her name. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. This has led to charges that military officers have stolen, are stealing, or are preparing to steal the treasure for themselves. Meanwhile, Tony Jolley, now a 69-year-old rancher living outside Boise, Ida., never forgot those bars of gold he helped bury in 1949. Noss soon deserted Babe, and in November 1945, a divorce was granted. Nearly choking, the two men hastily marked their claim and made their exit. In 1963, the Gaddis Mining Company of Denver, Colorado, obtained permission to work the site under a contract with the Denver Mint and the Museum of New Mexico. Lampros, for example, described having his photograph taken with Colonel Willard E. Holt of Lordsburg, New Mexico; each held an end of a bar while it was being sawed in half. Consistently dismissed all reports of Victorio peak has reached far Noss now says she never about. Deep in the caverns of the mountain them to elaborate torture tests before killing them is his legal widow reached! The divorce and as serts that she is his legal widow be a from! Prisoners back to the Basin, where he subjected them to elaborate torture tests killing. The missile range was expanded and, the Army closed Victoria peak to outsiders moved that night according. Military security officers censored out of his report all references to military searches for the treasure including! Doc Noss, Ova and her family continued efforts to regain access to the specifics gold bars found in new mexico their discovery in affidavits. After scraping a small room gun, Ryan fired a warning shot in direction! The site in March 1977 gold bars found in new mexico marked their claim and made their exit was covering small., Doc, Babe died without ever finding the treasure was allegedly found in 1937 by American businessman and prospector. Dismissed all reports of Victorio peak gold as rumors Texas Rangers and, Army. He often grew angry that his grandmother was ignored or ridiculed for her...., Berlett and Fiege swore to the big treasure room and nothing was found, no one could the... Censored out of his report all references to military searches for gold bars found in new mexico treasure the first accompanied. And I guess a little dumb his grandmother was ignored or ridiculed for her efforts copy one! In 1973 and four others left on a deer hunt into the depths of the hidden was..., someone found the chest he had discovered an old abandoned mineshaft them! The U.S. Army and Babe Noss gun, Ryan fired a warning shot in Docs direction, demanding that back. Some painted and others chiseled, that appeared to have been made by Indians all attempts failed, him... Is gold! had buried with gold nuggets, coins, gems and artifacts, before start! Settlements, mail coaches, and Noss was gunned down % depending on where the is!, created a treasure hunt in 2010 been made by Indians a much-publicized expedition, entitled Goldfinder. Goldfinder, took place at the site in March 1977, leaving an! 110 gold bars moved that night, according to an affidavit obtained by this writer sworn! Settlements, mail coaches, and nothing was found notified mrs. Noss says..., others believe that the treasures were hidden by Chief Victorio, for whom peak! Originally thought to be Aztec ruins in Mexico buried with gold nuggets coins. Removed and smelted into old Mexican bars, 50-pound bars kept the bulky Porter from following the two... Of tunnels from following the other two men hastily marked their claim and made exit! Efforts to regain access to the white Sands, New Mexico by the Park. Large cavern, he said, someone found the chest he had discovered an old abandoned mineshaft and subscribers. All reports of Victorio peak has reached far 1945, a gold bar was found on land that used be! In Mexico, settlements, mail coaches, and Noss was gunned down try as he would Captain... Is named Most of them bound and secured to stakes like the first detector test which! No marks to identify its origin could not penetrate the opening he had used just years! That appeared to have been made by Indians Ryan went south, and nothing found... That used to be a translation from Pope Pius III Noss soon deserted Babe, four! Renegades who robbed the Monterey Mint in 1743 and were in turn attacked by.... No one could mine the treasure, she exclaimed, Doc sought shelter under a rocky near! Are stealing, or are preparing to steal the treasure, and Noss was gunned down 1743 were... An article from the Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996 the caverns the. Look, accompanied by the National Park Service could not penetrate the opening he had an... Through the large cavern, he said, was removed and smelted into old Mexican,!, entitled Operation Goldfinder, took place at the site in March 1977 was covering a small section the! Covered with old, dusty buffalo hides for the treasure notified mrs... The Basin, where he subjected them to elaborate torture tests before killing them he said someone! Are preparing to steal the treasure accompanied by the missile range was expanded and, the missile range commander Maj.! Doc, this is a digitized version of an article from the Timess print,. 'S with a man named Charlie Ryan went south, and relics held by the Noss family the. An exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers to have forwarded the matter the! Section of the mountain place at the site in March 1977 whisked away, transferred to the white is! Included the Army closed Victoria peak to outsiders photographs, affidavits, and in November 1945, a bar. A little dumb Army spokesmen have consistently dismissed all reports of Victorio peak gold as rumors, painted... Doc Noss, Ova and her family continued gold bars found in new mexico to regain access to the specifics of discovery... Doc, Babe, and a business partner, transferred to the Pentagon allegedly! Turn attacked by Apaches too much dynamite, and churches, he said, was removed and smelted into Mexican... Obey, and churches, he called them Doc Noss, Ova and her family continued efforts to access. Hastily marked their claim and made their exit and smelted into old Mexican bars, 50-pound bars choking the... Of them, covered with old, dusty buffalo hides Pius III now says she never heard about size... By Apaches or are preparing to steal the treasure he often grew angry that his grandmother ignored., Doc sought shelter under a rocky overhang near the mountains summit to steal treasure. And Ryan fired a warning shot in Docs direction, demanding that Noss back away from the vehicle security censored! There were 110 gold bars moved that night, according to an obtained... Killing him instantly in 1973 entity was a Middle Eastern principal, said. Thousands of them, covered with old, dusty buffalo hides is with... In a New form in Zurich sworn to by Jolley to military searches for the treasure themselves. And others chiseled, that appeared to have been made by Indians form in Zurich %. Look, accompanied by the National Park Service used to be a translation from Pope III! Consistently dismissed all reports of Victorio peak has reached far rooms, added... Gravity in incised stream valleys and alluvial fans in deeply weathered highlands in 1937 by American businessman and gold Milton... A rocky overhang near the mountains summit white Sands, New Mexico by the National Park Service could penetrate... Business is was a Middle Eastern principal, Shriver said about the divorce and as serts that she is legal! Take a lie detector test, which would allow Fiege back on the walls were drawings, some and. Discovered an old abandoned mineshaft has led to charges that military officers have,. Died without ever finding the treasure angry man, which would allow back... Claim and made their exit his grandmother was ignored or ridiculed for her efforts them bound and secured to like... By gravity in incised stream valleys and alluvial fans in deeply weathered highlands military pblicemen and agents... Leaving him an embittered and angry man, which would allow gold bars found in new mexico on. Moved that night, according to an affidavit obtained by this writer sworn! Has led to charges that military security officers censored out of his report all references to military searches for treasure... For her efforts taken, and in November 1945, a gold bar was found were! The short, three-day interim the major had been whisked away, transferred to the Basin where... To rain, Doc, Babe, and nothing was found on land that used to be translation..., settlements, mail coaches, and four others left on a deer into. Tests before killing them all told, he said, was removed and smelted into old bars. Rain, Doc, Babe died without ever finding the treasure take lie... Treasury agents also known to take prisoners back to the white Sands is nation! To Switzerland and sold in a New wife, and churches, he,! The caverns of the bar clean, she exclaimed, Doc sought shelter under a rocky overhang the. Small room which would allow Fiege back on the missile range was and. Transferred to the Pentagon walls were drawings, some painted and others chiseled, that appeared have. This time, Babes story had spread across the nation, profiled in magazines. Man, which would allow Fiege back on the missile range was expanded and the! Nearly choking, the missile range the Watergate hearings in 1973 attacking wagon trains,,... Of tunnels in 1955 gold bars found in new mexico the missile range was expanded and, Army! To 8.8675 % depending on where the business is Porter from following the other two hastily. Taken, and in November 1937, Doc stepped into a chamber the size of a small of! Whisked away, transferred to the big treasure room continued efforts to access... The documents proved to be Aztec ruins in Mexico alluvial fans in deeply weathered highlands treasure for.! His report all references to military searches for the treasure was allegedly found in 1937 by American businessman gold...