Prospectors lost looking for the Lost Dutchman Mine

[Astrobouncer]

Saw this today on Mindat, and thought I would share the article with you guys.

Search for men on Ariz treasure hunt enters day 3
AP

By BOB CHRISTIE, Associated Press Writer Bob Christie, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jul 13, 5:18 pm ET

PHOENIX – Rescue workers were searching a rugged Arizona wilderness area for a third day in triple-digit temperatures Tuesday for three Utah men who went missing while looking for the legendary Lost Dutchman Gold Mine.

The three men from Salt Lake City have been in the Superstition Mountains since at least Sunday, and possibly nearly a week, Maricopa County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Jesse Spurgin said. They were last heard from last Tuesday.

Curtis Meriworth, 67, Ardean Charles, 62 and Malcolm Meeks, 51, planned on hiking into the mountains and exploring the area about 40 miles east of Phoenix during the day and spending nights in a motel, Spurgin said.

One of the men became lost in the same area last year and had to be rescued. Spurgin said he was unable to confirm exactly which of the three men had become lost, but confirmed the search with officials at the command post.

The area near Lost Dutchman State Park and the Superstition Wilderness is filled with steep canyons, soaring rocky outcroppings, cactus and heavy brush. With temperatures soaring above 110 degrees this week and the men apparently unprepared for lengthy backcountry stays, their lives could be in serious danger.

"Hopefully we're going to find them alive and we're continuing to search with that in mind," Spurgin said.

The Lost Dutchman mine has drawn prospectors of all stripes for more than a century. Fabled as a mother lode mined by a Mexican family in the 1840s before being lost, it was supposedly rediscovered by a German immigrant named Jacob Waltz and his partner in the 1870s.

The partner killed by Indians (or possibly Waltz himself, according to a history on the state park website), Waltz purportedly hid stashes of gold before returning to Phoenix, where he died in 1891. Searchers have tried in vain to find the mine ever since.

The men were apparently just the latest intent on finding their fortunes, Spurgin said. The sheriff's office found the men's car at a trailhead on Sunday afternoon after their family members reported them overdue. On Tuesday, two helicopters, 6 searchers on horseback, search teams with dogs and about a dozen posse members and deputies were looking for them.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100713/ap_on_re_us/us_missing_treasure_hunters

 

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[Hoser John]

Any good tracking dog will smell the rotting flesh by now,shaft or no shaft,this story smells fishy to meJohn

 

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[maui]

4 people that recently vanished and with all the searching that has be done, still no clue
as to what happened? yep, there is something going on in those mountains all right,
no trace, no clothing, no bones nothing.
take care. ron

 

[Hal Croves]

Robbed them of what? HAHAHA

Although, my favorite story of robbery and betrayal in the Superstitions is about two brothers from Hawaii. In 1965, the body of a man was found along a trail in the Mountains. Long story short, he and his brother were searching for the Lost Dutchman. They found a huge gold nugget. They argued. One brother killed the other and hid his body.

The huge "gold" nugget turned out to be Iron Pyrite. Worthless!

Mike

gollum,
I am trying to track down this story. Do you have the names of the brothers and are your sure it was 1965?

Thanks gollum!


Hal

 

[bedrock bubba]

These old dudes should never have tried this. Going from an air conditioned motel to 110 heat is not smart!

Maybe the Spaced Invader aliens got them?

 

[johnedoe]

I'm sure they were abducted by aliens...........
I mean how else could they disappear without a trace?

On a more serious side.... how many of you have been to that region?
I have and I gotta tell ya it is some rugged assed country with many a pitfall.
I feel sorry for them and for their families suffering the grief they must be experiencing.

I hope SAR can find them or at least something so the families can have some closure.

 

[Nitric]

I hope they have found them by now!!! There can't be much left of them!

ok ok, I'm joking guys!! Look at the date of the thread...I didn't realize it until I was part way through....

Seriously though......I wonder if they were ever found? Does anyone know?

 

[davidb]

Or since 1 of the men had to be rescued from the same area and he went back sounds to me like he may have found something worth taking the chance again and even talked 2 buddies into going with him

 

[davidb]

I was reading an article that said all 3 bodies where found in 2011 poor fellers

 

[Clay Diggins]

Yes their bodies were found. They were killed by heat stroke. They had climbed up a south facing slope with no cover in mid afternoon. Estimated ground temperatures were well above 130 degrees. Two died in place and the third stripped down and started wandering across the slope. Stripping down and aimlessly wandering is common with heat stroke victims. Often drinking water is ignored once heat stroke begins.

I know the Superstition Search and Rescue crew that eventually found what was left of the bodies. It was gruesome. Their lives were put in danger in their efforts to find and save these three people that ignored all the signage and verbal warnings. Superstition Search and Rescue are just ordinary people like you and I putting their lives in danger without pay, on their own time to save lives.

No treasure is worth the price paid by these treasure seekers. 3 - 4 people die in Arizona each summer because they believe they are immune to the same heat that has killed hundreds of other people. Macho won't save you when it comes to this kind of heat. Having your friends with you doesn't help either you just die with your friends as these men did. Even if you don't care enough about your own life please consider the profound sadness the Search and Rescue crew experiences every time they find another cooked human body when they were hoping to save a life.

Heavy Pans