researching the 'Treasure of Paradise'

[Combat K]

I am new to this arena but in the past have brushed elbows with a few luminaries of the treasure hunting world, the best know being Mel Fisher, the most ardent gold bug I ever met and the man who after much suffering and searching found the Nuestra Senora de Atocha off the Florida Keys. Today I am mostly interested in the historical ramifications of an alleged treasure referred to as the 'Treasure of Paradise' and since I am such an amateur here I hope you will direct me to the proper forum to discuss this subject.
Briefly put, 'TOP' is the story of fairly recent buried treasure (early to mid 1980's) that could amount to half a billion dollars (largely gold) and lies along Cal. State Route 191, also called Clark Rd. in the small town of Paradise, Calif. I will not state to any that this treasure is still there but I will say I am sure it was at one time, the lurid story of its provenance is true and that it could definetley be there yet. Who knows about these things, right? That is what research and discussion is all about. Thanks so much regarding this intriguing and important subject and I look forward to any suggestions. Combat K Little Rock, Ark.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[against the wind]

Welcome to the forum from Port Allegheny, Pennsylvania

 

[vpnavy]

Welcome Aboard! You didn't list your state (or country) in your profile. So, you might consider jumping over to Sub-Forums: Select Your Area.... for information (i.e., clubs, hunts, finds, legends, maps, etc.) directly related to your state (or country).

 

[Mackaydon]

Combat K
Welcome to Treasure Net !!
If I may ask.....What is "the lurid story of its provenance" ?
By my quick calcs, 1/2 B in gold would weigh over ten tons today.
Am I close?
Don......

 

[digging440yrs]

Welcome aboard

 

[scruggs]

Welcome to the Forum from Northern Alabama

 

[Combat K]

Yo Don, I think your calculations are correct and is why I suspect the gold is still there just waiting. Briefly, the 'lurid provenance' goes like this. Barry Seal was not the ONLY CIA hired pilot to run 'guns south, dope north' to the US backed Contras in the early to mid 80's. To quote retired Maj. Gen. John K. Singlaub (high ranking advisor to the Reagan bunch in those days): "There is a large group of unemployed or underemployed pilots who have airplains, who are vying with one another, bidding for the flying jobs that exist in Central America. Some of them haul fresh vegetable from Guatemala to the United States. The same airplane that last week was hualing canalopes..next week may be hauling bullets." Or as it turned out (tho the CIA still deneys this) Cocaine! A man named Jerry Strickland (probably a false name) owned a spread in Paradise Calif. and ran guns south, dope north for over a year in those days for the CIA earning at times 2 million dollars a week for over a year. At that time his fortune amounted to $175,000,000-mostly in gold. He buried it somewhere along Cal. state Route 191, also called Clark Rd. When the Sandinistas shot down the notorius CIA plane on Oct. 6, 86 Strickland was flying back to Cal. via Edwards Air Force Base and when he landed with his usuall load, his usual pals were long gone --replaced by the police. As far as is known, he was spirited away to Safford Fed. prison in Arizona. He begged 'a friend' (a guy I know well) to go get his helicopter and rescue him before he was killed. The rescue did not take place and no one seems to know what Jerry's fate was. Nor his treasure which after over 30 yrs and much gold inflation may amount to half a billion $$ (or half ton of 99.9% pure gold). I am attempting to run this down best I can and will soon petition the CIA via FOI for any info they might release. I am pretty sure this is the first time the'treasure of Paradise' as come to light and I invite any that are intrigued to chat about it and give me their thots. There is of course much more to this story than I can go into at this point but I am happy to tell what I know. Combat K

 

[Mackaydon]

Scroll down towards the bottom of this site and you'll see a Jerome Strickland who lives in Paradise, California.
His age is 43; maybe the son of your referenced person.
https://www.instantcheckmate.com/people/jerome-strickland/
Intriguing story; back in the Lt.Col. Ollie North days
Don.....

 

[Combat K]

That is interesting and deserves a look see. If he is related he would be about the right age. I and my friend who told me all this are in our early 70's now.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Welcome to the forum from Massachusetts!

 

[Mackaydon]

Combat K
I'll take you up on your offer to 'tell what I know'.
What is the source for this:
"He buried it somewhere along Cal. state Route 191, also called Clark Rd."
Don........
PS: Any follow-up to my post #8?

 

[Combat K]

Don, another party expressing interest has sworn me to secrecy, at least for the time being. This guy lives sorta near the site in question. I apologize for maybe seeming coy but this is a half billion dollar legend after all. But let me just say the Treasure of Paradise story was told me by a long time marijuana smuggler from the 60's who during the mid 80's met a pilot at the Mexico City airport that eventually informed him he (this pilot) was flying 'guns south, dope north' for the CIA. Fantastic tho this may sound, I sincerely believe it to be true. Barry Seal in other words was not the only contract flyer for the spooks. This man was arrested when landing a plane full of cocaine at Edwards Air Force Base in Calif. because he had been in the air when the Sandinistas shot down the C-123 cargo plane and the world learned of the Iran-Contra scandal. This man had accumulated $175,000,000 from his efforts (2 million a week!). He was a gold bug and the horde is mostly gold with some cash. The man vanished as far as anyone knows into a federal prison in Arizona, never to be heard of again. And I was wrong on the weight. Gold has doubled in value since the days it was buried and would be now worth twice the above. More on this to come unless I manage to find it and dig it up. Course it would weigh more like 5 tons. Best till next time on this amazing true story. CK