Moonshiner Stash - Need Advice

[eatapeach]

I need advice on a possible money cache. When I was a lad we lived down the road from a fellow who ran 'shine. Most counties were dry and running 'shine or bootlegging was a most lucrative though potentially dangerous business, as this fellow was shot and killed at a honkytonk, the case never solved. I moved away from the area and hadn't thought of the incident until about twenty years ago, when the kid brother of the murdered man moved here and we got reacquainted.

He revealed that he went with his older brother many times to collect money at honkytonks, shot-houses, private clubs etc. Lots of money. Piggly Wiggly bags full of money. The thing is, after his brother's murder, several thousand dollars was found, but that was it. They looked for every conceivable place that a large amount of money could be hidden. They literally took the house and outbuildings apart , searched all the vehicles, dug a bunch of dry holes, but turned up nothing. Nada. Zip. Nevertheless, he was convinced at the time that the money is still there somewhere.
My questions are:

1. Does this sound worthy of further research?

2. What kind of detector is needed to find a large container (hopefully metal) ?

3. If buried in a nonmetal container, is there a way to detect that?

Any and all suggestions are welcome.

 

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[CWnut]

seems like all has been searched, however i would not let that deter me from doing a careful search of what remains of anything. Possibly the money on hand was just his cash drawer and more was hidden somewhere off the property. That way it wouldn't be confiscated in a raid, check some of his other hangouts and friends places; maybe a hunting cabin or camping site or maybe even put into a bank account. Check this link



http://www.missingmoney.com/

 

[warsawdaddy]

Back in the honkytonk days,several thousand dollars was a lot more than today.Are you sure there was more after payouts? If it was stashed,I would think it would be within 200yds of 'home' or hidden on a relative/friend's property.If you have access to the property,It would be worth a good look.

 

[eatapeach]

Thanks Guys, for the excellent suggestions.

There was mention of land in another part of the county. Not sure who it actually belonged to. Like I said, this conversation took place over twenty years ago about an event that transpired more than thirty years earlier. The money could still be in the ground or this could be one humongous wild goose chase. More research is in order. I will keep you posted.

I am a resurrected enthusiast of metal detecting since my cousin sent me a Garrett Ace250 as a gift. It's a much nicer unit than the dinosaur I used in a previous life. Is it suitable for a venture such as this?

Resurrected-but still a novice,
eatapeach

 

[Kentucky Kache]

eatapeach, is the kid brother still around?

 

[BamaBill]

Did ya ever figure out where his still was? I would start there if I was you.

 

[diggummup]

eatapeach, is the kid brother still around?

Did ya ever figure out where his still was? I would start there if I was you.

A couple of good questions in need of answering.

I might add that if these are paper bills, you'd better hope they were secured in a good watertight fashion before being buried, if in fact they were buried to begin with. It sounds like your talking about bills that were buried up to 50 years ago or more. You need to learn as many details about the brother that was murdered as you can. Especially where did he spend most of his time when he wasn't at the still.

 

[stefen]

If paper bills were stashed, possibly he used a Mason jar that has a lead lid which may be a signal source.

 

[SC_hunter]

The Ace should do a good job...if it was stashed in a mason type jar or metal cannister...The Ace will pick it up. GG and let us know if you run across anything.

 

[treasureace14]

PROPERTY OF ANY AQUATINCE OR SOMEONE INVOLVED IN MAKING THE MOONSHINE.OR TRY TO FIND THE WILL OF THE DUDE OR A SAFTY DEPOSIT BOX.

 

[eatapeach]

The brother is still around.
My first order of business is to talk with him again. Maybe we can jog each others memory.

The land in question may not have belonged to him. In the event that it did, I wonder how far back county property records are kept?

The location of the still could be the proverbial needle in a haystack. Especially if the haystack was a moving target which a lot of them were, one step ahead of the revenuers.

Worst case scenario. What if the cache is not in a metal container? Say it was in a wood box or a bag of some description? Does paper currency rot? Is there equipment that will detect large nonmetal buried objects?

Thanks for all the info.
tj

 

[cavers5]

Check the trees, the well, and the outhouse pit. My Papaw used to moonshine. Bagged money was easily dumped or hidden.

Please keep us posted.

Cavers5

 

[stefen]

Worst case scenario. What if the cache is not in a metal container? Say it was in a wood box or a bag of some description? Does paper currency rot? Is there equipment that will detect large nonmetal buried objects?

Thanks for all the info.
tj

In answer to your question, a steel probe rod and a shovel...and a lot of luck

 

[Zephyr]

If there are trees on the property (or even old stumps), string a rope between two of them and search at the halfway point. That's an old trick for hiding stashes....

 

[eatapeach]

CWnut, Warsawdaddy, jbot, BamaBill, diggummup, stefan, SC_hunter, treasureace12, cavers5, Zephyr. I appreciate all the information you so kindly took the time to provide me. You are A # 1 in my book. Someday maybe I can return the favor.

I can report that I talked with the brother and he is convinced a large sum of money even by today's standards, is still in the ground. Not only that, but he is certain he saw the custom-made metal container used to bury it.

But, as they say in the commercial real estate business, success is all about location, location, location. He gave me some ideas where to look, but it will require property records, microfiche research, etc. A day job, to this point has kept me from doing much of that. Does anyone know if there are online resources that would help in this regard?

I will keep you posted,
tj

 

[cavers5]

There are online resources, but you really don't want to give out too much info.

I suggest narrowing down the resource site you want or need to check first, the one that you think will be most valuable to you and then see if you can get in there on a Sat. or take a half day from work. If it was me, I would take TGIF!

Good luck and don't give up on it! Just take your time and enjoy it.

Although those sleepless nights "daydreaming" of just rolling around in your gold coins.....

Just teasing!

Cavers5

 

[Gold_Needle]

Hi,

Hmm, I agree with the idea of finding the still and where he made the moonshine. Something could be there if not the big load of money.

How safe is the area? You probably want to get a partner just to cover your back. Old neighbors might just be waiting and watching for someone to dig and then pounce. Say like the local cops who investigated the old murder and can come and say its boozed money and subject to be confiscated.

Even if it was in a sack the sack might have metal rings around the holes.

Good luck

 

[treasureace14]

i dont know about searching the still.....
because thats were most people would look for it.............
id hide it were no one would look for it..............
because im just good like that 8)

 

[Connecticut Sam]

Search everywhere, even for single coins.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Keep in mind, moonshiners were (and still are) country boys who knew every single inch of the land they operated in, he would have had a lifetime of experience hunting the woods around there, and you may be hard pressed to figure out his hidey holes. Ask the brother if he remembers any caves, abandoned cabins, shacks, or homesites that were in the area. If he had a stash, it would have been somewhere he could get to in a hurry, but not a place anyone who knew him would immediately think to look.