Go to the Parks & Rec. office on Simpson and get a metal detecting permit (free) for the parks. Also, Sunriver was an old army engineer base (Camp Abbott) '42 to '44 before becoming the resort. I've read they allow metal detecting as long as you take a picture of any historical finds and give the pics to the museum there. (Stick to the non-occupied areas). If you haven't already, join the Deschutes County Historical Society (they have a museum downtown on Bond, and have documents and materials that you can search for leads, including all the back issues of the Bend Bulletin). We live in Sunriver (but outside the resort area...technically Three Rivers.)