Placer gold collected from multiple districts in New Mexico, coupled with a broad database of previously analyzed placer gold samples indicate correlations between chemical signatures (especially gold, silver, and copper) and type of deposits (i.e., Au-rich copper porphyry deposits, Au porphyry deposits, and epithermal deposits). In 1937, the peak was miles from nowhere. Others believe that Noss found the treasure of Don Juan de Onate, who, in 1598, founded New Mexico as a Spanish colony. 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. But before that happened, he must have hauled 500 or 600 bars of gold out of there and hid them, contended Mrs. Guthrie. 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. Noss divorced her, charging desertion. Doc returned with a gold bar, presented it to his wife, Babe, and the couple soon dedicated their lives to exploring Victorio Peak, living in a tent at the base of the mountain in search of treasure. American and foreign car makers have rented land at the installation to test new air bags. Doc was trying to obey the law but they grabbed our gold, Mrs. Noss said, He blew up. Try as he would, Captain Fiege could not penetrate the opening he had used just three years earlier. Gold Bar Found Beneath Mexico City was Loot from Cortes' Aztec Retreat. The world's first atomic bomb was detonated here on July 16, 1945. Letha Guthrie, Ovas eldest daughter from a previous marriage, described the next few years as a very happy time for the Noss family, one of simple, hard work with a bright, limitless future. They bore the Spanish stamp. In the summer of 1961, upon the advice of the Director of the Mint, Major General John Shinkle of White Sands allowed Captain Fiege, Captain Orby Swanner, Major Kelly, and Colonel Gorman to work the claim. Reportedly, he amassed a treasure of gold, silver, and jewels before being ordered back to Mexico City in 1607. Some believe that Doc Noss found the Casa del Cueva de Oro, Spanish for the House of the Golden Cave. Just 12 years after discovering the treasure, Doc Noss died with just $2.16 in his pocket. In a special act of Congress passed in 1989, the Hembrillo Basin was unlocked for Terry Delonas and the Noss heirs; however, nothing has been found. Current environmental and permitting restrictions also have hampered recent production in the New Placers and Jicarilla districts. Its occasional visitors included hunting parties, and Doc Noss and his wife, Ova, were on one such expedition in search of deer. The sources of this threat, according to the man who relayed the threat to Scott, were two agents of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Congress had just passed an act outlawing the private ownership of gold, meaning he had no buyers for his supposed stash (via Unsolved). I've heard that story at least 500 times. Holes were drilled and it assayed at $20.67 an ounce, said Mrs. Noss. 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. At one time, he brought out a crown, which contained 243 diamonds and one pigeon-blood ruby. Later, Fiege would take a lie detector test, which would allow Fiege back on the missile range. As Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH . Doc thought that he had discovered an old abandoned mineshaft. Mr. Delonas said the legend of the buried treasure obsessed the family for generations. However, it was a slow process, and in 1955, the White Sands Missile Range unexpectedly expanded their operations to encompass the Hembrillo Basin. But, she said, mint officers confiscated the five bars and gave her husband a receipt for $97,000. All attempts failed, leaving him an embittered and angry man, which caused problems in his marriage. Berlett viewed this as substantiation for the theory that Spaniards had been responsible for stashing the gold. In 1981, a construction worker discovered the gold bar, weighing 4.25 lbs. By completing a chemical analysis and determining the particle morphology of placer gold collected from these districts using an electron microprobe, patterns in the chemical signatures from each location can be used to examine chemical variability (1) within the individual placer gold particles, (2) within the same district and (3) among different districts. However, Doc was unable to capitalize on the gold bars, as four years before his discovery, Congress had passed the Gold Act, which outlawed the private ownership of gold. The family believes that as much as 100 tons of gold, which would be worth $1.25 billion at today's closing price of $358.90 an ounce on the Commodity Exchange in New York, remains hidden in. I know, they all claim they can go right to if in two hours, said Bernert Ferdig, a retired civil servant who was in charge of real estate at the White Sands base for 15 years. This was one of Apache Chief Victorios hideouts and was the site of a battle in 1880 between Victorios warriors and the U.S. Army Ninth Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers.. There were 110 gold bars moved that night, according to an affidavit obtained by this writer and sworn to by Jolley. His wife and his two school-age children had also abruptly left. From that moment onward, every attempt of Babes to clear the rubble from the plugged shaft met with a military escort out of the area. It all started in 1937, when Mr. Noss, who practiced as a foot doctor though it was never clear if he had a medical license, returned from a hunting trip at New Mexico's Victorio Peak with startling news: he had glimpsed a hidden trove of riches, 16,000 gold bars. The family believes that as much as 100 tons of gold, which would be worth $1.25 billion at today's closing price of $358.90 an ounce on the Commodity Exchange in New York, remains hidden in the cavern. WHITE SANDS, N.M. Lost treasure stories are a dime a dozen in the Southwest. Following 1937 Story of Buried Gold, Family Searches New Mexico's Sands, https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/29/us/following-1937-story-of-buried-gold-family-searches-new-mexico-s-sands.html. That three or four weeks later Frank Foss told me that E.M. had called him and said he was in Central America. Now there were two military commands involved. Treasure Net Forum Lack of water has hampered mining in many districts and new technology, which minimizes water usage, may stimulate activity. Maxmillian was assassinated in 1867. They also were given and passed lie detector tests. After much searching, he finally found a small iron bar to carry back through the narrow passageway. Moon, said that he was from the White House Secret Service detail and he showed the officer a green, laminated card which stated Secret Service, Division of the White House. Another man, an engineer named Dick Richardson, told the officer that he was a boyhood friend of Lyndon Johnsons and that he had personally counted 18,888 gold bars in one stack in a cavern at Victorio Peak, each bar weighing about 60 pounds. And, on March 4, 1949, the day before Doc was shot, a small plane crashed near Victoria Peak killing the pilot and severely injuring Marvin Beckwith, son of the, first Mrs. Noss. She called her lawyer, Philip Koury, of Kansas City, who phoned General Shinkle. I was just a kid, about 13 or 14 years old, he told this writer. This time, the military began a full-scale mining operation at the Peak. The engineer suggested eight sticks of dynamite, to which Noss heatedly disagreed, claiming the mountain was too unstable. The gold bar had disappeared without a trace. 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. Berlett and Fiege had found a different passage into Victorio Peak, leading into a different chamber. The Army then shut down all operations stating that no additional searches would be allowed. Alleged gold cache in the U.S. state of New Mexico, "Hunt for Fabulous Cache of Gold Lands in Court", "Following 1937 Story of Buried Gold, Family Searches New Mexico's Sands", "Seekers of fabled southern N.M. treasure sue Army", "Authors re-examine Victorio Peak storyand think gold really may be there", "Treasure or Treachery? Mr. Bailey claimed that given a helicopter and a half-hour, he could find 292 gold bars. They believe that if the Lue Map and the hieroglyphs could be deciphered then the gold bars could be found. Background research into the enormous wealth contained in the caverns of Victorio Peak revealed many eyewitness reports of the gold. Victorio Peak, located in northern Dona Ana County, now lies within the White Sands Missile Range in south-central New Mexico. 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 blast was a disaster, causing a cave-in, collapsing the fragile shafts, and effectively shutting Doc out of his mine. Doc attempted illegally to sell his gold for nine years, but it wasnt easy finding buyers. Many hieroglyphs have been found in New Mexico near his home, according to treasure hunters from the area. Ferdig, adding, The trouble with treasure stories is that there's always a little truth in them.. This could explain the skeletons in the cavern. Noss agreed with Ryan to exchange some of the gold bars for $25,000 to reopen the shaft. Caballo Mountains - Also called Horse Mountains, the peaks are located 35 miles north of Las Cruces, New Mexico. They even brought in their own security guards, he added. McGuires Place Noss traveled down, passing caverns with Native American designs until he reached a room with hoards of gold, jewels, pouches, documents and 27 skeletons. Many years later, a man named Milton Ernest Doc Noss spent some time exploring Victorio Peak while on a deer hunt. Jan 20, 2020 Ian Harvey. Many people believe the search points to the area of the four corners. Meanwhile, Noss's mining claims (for talc as a disguise) expired in 1948, and Mrs. Noss renewed them in her name. Mr. Bailey later dropped the matter. He told this writer that the gold bars in the cave were stacked like cordwood.. It was on Nov. 7, we had 11 families on a hunting trip and I was doing the cooking, she said in an interview at her daughter's home in Clovis, N. M. She said her husband, called Doc, had come back, to the camp that night and secretly told her of lowering himself with ropes down a crevice on Victoria Peak into caverns laden with coins, jewelry, guns, swords, letters, 27 human skeletons, and hundreds of metal bars that turned out to be gold. 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