The Victorio Peak treasure (also seen in print as the Treasure of Victorio Peak or Treasure of San Andres) describes a cache of gold reportedly found inside Victorio Peak in 1937 in southern New Mexico.
History
edit
The treasure was allegedly found in 1937 by American businessman and gold prospector Milton Ernest "Doc" Noss.[1][a] While there have been multiple documented expeditions to the peak, no gold has been officially recorded as being recovered from the site.[3] Noss was ultimately killed by an associate, Charley Ryan, in 1949 after Ryan accused Noss of fraud and Noss allegedly threatened to kill Ryan and his family.[3][b]
A 1961 search by the U.S. Army—the peak lies within White Sands Missile Range—was stopped following a request to state officials by Noss's first wife, Ova.[5] She later was part of an unsuccessful 1963 search.[5] During the 1970s, lawyer F. Lee Bailey represented clients who claimed to know where the treasure was located.[6][5] By 1992, a grandson of Ova formed the Ova Noss Family Partnership to finance additional searching.[5] The partnership conducted unsuccessful searches until March 1996, when the Army suspended their access.[7]
Theories abound on the origins of the alleged treasure, including that it was pilfered from Mexico during the reign of the Austrian puppet Emperor Maximilian, or through collusion between Pancho Villa and Germany prior to World War I.[8]
In media
editThe reported treasure and efforts to find it have been covered in books and on television, including:
- a September 1977 segment of 60 Minutes by Dan Rather, who also interviewed Ova Noss[9]
- the 1978 book 100 Tons of Gold by David Leon Chandler[10]
- the television show Unsolved Mysteries; originally on May 10, 1989, and an update on February 11, 1990[11]
- a 2008 book co-authored by Robert Boswell, titled What Men Call Treasure[12]
- a six-part television series titled Gold, Lies & Videotape, which debuted on Discovery Channel in January 2023[13]
See also
edit- Battle of Hembrillo Basin, an 1880 battle between the U.S. Army and Apaches led by Chief Victorio
- Executive Order 6102, a 1933 action that limited gold ownership in the United States
Notes
edit- ^ Noss was born on July 3, 1905, in Taloga, Oklahoma.[2]
- ^ Noss died on March 5, 1949, in Hatch, New Mexico.[4]
References
edit- ^ Phillips, Marsha D. (May 1, 1988). "The Missing Treasure of Victorio Peak". El Paso Times. p. 16 (Borderlands). Retrieved January 14, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Draft Registration Card". Selective Service System. October 1940. Retrieved January 14, 2023 – via fold3.com.
- ^ a b Johnson, Nancy (August 12, 2009). "Victorio Peak Treasure (part III)". Deming Headlight. Deming, New Mexico. p. 4. Retrieved January 14, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Hunt for Fabulous Cache of Gold Lands in Court". Albuquerque Journal. April 23, 1949. p. 1. Retrieved January 14, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Dirk Johnson (29 July 1992). "Following 1937 Story of Buried Gold, Family Searches New Mexico's Sands". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 May 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "Victorio treasure searchers prepare". The Santa Fe New Mexican. AP. October 11, 1976. p. 12. Retrieved January 14, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Seekers of fabled southern N.M. treasure sue Army". The Albuquerque Tribune. AP. April 19, 1997. p. D6. Retrieved January 14, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Johnson, Nancy (July 29, 2009). "Victorio Peak treasure". Deming Headlight. Deming, New Mexico. p. 4. Retrieved January 14, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Bryan, Howard (September 21, 1977). "Off the Beaten Path". The Albuquerque Tribune. p. A-6. Retrieved January 14, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Bullock, Alice (April 2, 1978). "100 Tons of Gold". The Santa Fe New Mexican. p. 81. Retrieved January 14, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Victorio's Peak treasure, Unsolved.com. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ Renteria, Ramon (September 21, 2008). "Authors re-examine Victorio Peak story – and think gold really may be there". El Paso Times. p. 2F. Retrieved January 14, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "'Gold, Lies & Videotape' Is a Shocking True Story of Hidden Treasure". extratv.com. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
Further reading
edit- Abcarian, Robin (16 June 1991). "Treasure or Treachery?: Did 'Doc' Noss Really Find Caverns of Gold or Did He Pull Off a Hoax That Has Plagued His Kin for Years?". LA Times.
- Coates, James (January 28, 1990). "Quest for Fabled Gold Starts Anew". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
- Jameson, W.C. (2014). Treasure Hunter: A Memoir of Caches, Curses, and Confrontations Taylor Trade Publishing, Lanham, MD. ISBN 978-1-58979-992-9
External links
edit- The Treasure of Victorio Peak at the Skeptoid Podcast