Lost Treasure Hunters in AZ

[Possumguts]

Don't know if this belongs on this link, but it is of concern to our members.
3 Utah Treasure Hunters are lost in Arizona looking for the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine. Triple digit heat is causing concern, here's the link.

http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/07/12/1111096/3-utah-men-missing-in-arizona.html

 

[Tank69]

Sad , another cause of un prepared hikers ..........come on people rule #1 ia allways communication , before during an after .


I hope for the familes sake they are all ok .

 

[Tnmountains]

Bad news. A Gps might have been useful as communication as mentioned above. Hope all is well.

 

[gollum]

Bad news. A Gps might have been useful as communication as mentioned above. Hope all is well.

A problem you won't have in Tennessee that happens every summer in the deserts of the Southwest is that when temperatures hit 115-120 degrees crystals won't form for the LCD Screen to work. That means GPS is worthless.

If you don't have TOPOs, a good lensatic compass, and excellent land navigation skills...............and you just happen to be in some of the most godforsaken places in the country......................there is a better than average chance you could die.

It's not nice to hear, but it happens every year. People wander off into the nether regions of the American Southwest without any desert experience or idea what it is REALLY like there, and go missing. Many times they turn up dead.

I hope these guys turn up okay. Its' still within the time frame for them to be alive, but these people just keep coming. First, it was Jesse Capen that disappeared last November. He still hasn't turned up. People are still looking for him, then before the story is even old these three wander into the void. Jesse Capen and these three were all looking for the Lost Dutchman.

I have some sage advice for you people reading this, who think you have the solution to the Lost Dutchman or any other desert based lost mine story:

If you honestly look at yourself, and you fit into one of these categories:

1. Have any health issues

2. Have little or no desert survival experience

3. Are fat

4. Are old

5. Are fat and old

6. Can't read a TOPO Map as easily as an obituary

7. Don't have a lot of Land Navigation experience

8. Don't know EXACTLY how to shoot Azimuths and Back Azimuths using a lensatic compass

9. Don't know what the North Star, Big Dipper, or Little Dipper look like

10. Don't know the formulae for determining the amount of water you will need per hour of hiking/climbing

THEN STAY OUT OF THE DAMNED DESERTS AND MOUNTAINS IN THE SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even the very experienced old timers don't go into the mountains until later in the year when things cool down.

If you are 60 years old, live in Connecticut, are an accountant, and are 50 pounds overweight............ make friends with someone who can check out your theories for you. And no......I am not looking to run down anybody's theories for them. HAHAHA There's not enough time in my life for my own projects.

Stay safe and don't be stupid (unless you take out a large life insurance policy on yourself).

Best-Mike

PS

Buy a SPOT:

http://www.findmespot.com/en/

 

[ZJBarney]

What a recipe for disaster. People really don't understand how hot 115 degrees is untill it hits them in the face like freight train. They'll be fortunate to find the bodies.

 

[Rasputin]

They were searching in the searing summer heat, two of them have medical conditions, and one has been rescued before...they are clearly poised to remove themselves from the gene pool.

 

[SoDelft]

I've lived here my whole life in Arizona and will never understand why people go out during the Arizona summer to look for treasure in the desert. In the winter, it is heaven here. Not only can you look for treasure, you can have a wonderful experience, see wildlife and maybe flowers in bloom. I don't want to open the whole Superstition treasure debate but why not research in the summer and hunt in the Winter or Spring? I really hope they are found ok because every person's death affects all the loved ones around them. Arizona is beautiful but can be deadly in the summer.

 

[Marbleguy]

I live in Trona,Ca..

How hot does it get out here during summer? I'm looking out my bedroom window right now at Death Valley,that's how hot it gets. Temps during August routinely top 128F into the 130s. Word has it that the temp tops 145F above the surface of nearby Searles Dry Lake. Lots of people die out here. They're always 'city people'. Be prepared,people. Be prepared.

 

[gargreen18]

They were searching in the searing summer heat, two of them have medical conditions, and one has been rescued before...they are clearly poised to remove themselves from the gene pool.

I agree with you there! Greed kills. If one of them has been lost before and hasn't learned from that experience.... Then leave em out there!

 

[Nate in Ga]

They were searching in the searing summer heat, two of them have medical conditions, and one has been rescued before...they are clearly poised to remove themselves from the gene pool.

I agree with you there! Greed kills. If one of them has been lost before and hasn't learned from that experience.... Then leave em out there!

Leave them out there huh? Pretty stupid thing for you to be able to process in your head as an option. Yeah they def made a stupid choice, but I doubt its all about greed, its probably more about adventure and feeling alive, still stupid of them. Prayers from me and mine.

 

[gollum]

Leave 'em out there? That's pretty ign0rant.

I think greed might have actually had something to do with things. They didn't give friends or relatives a map with "X" marks the spot where they would be. That tells me they were paranoid about someone knowing their location= GREEDY.

The time of the year also plays a part. They lived in Salt Lake City. They knew how hot it could get. The did it for the same reason I go out in the Summertime Desert: Nobody else out there to see what you're doing. No tourists and the Rangers like to stay in their nice air conditioned offices. Difference is, I'm in decent shape and have a LOT of desert experience, and have no health conditions.

Best-Mike

 

[SoDelft]

I agree with you Best-Mike. Plenty of people climbing Camelback mountain more than once in a single day in the summer but they are in good shape. Nature can be unforgiving and even seasoned climbers occasionally fall but the newbes and greenhorns, God help them!!! Not telling someone where you going better have a good last will and testament.

 

[bootybay]

I take it no news on these men yet?

 

[gollum]

Nothing new.

No traces yet. Kind of odd for three people.

Mike

 

[SoDelft]

Here is a link to the story:
azcentral.com
This is a local Phoenix Newspaper, we have a heat advisory today, at this moment 110 degrees.

 

[Shortstack]

Well, 3 more people killed by the Big Lie.

 

[gollum]

Well, 3 more people killed by the Big Lie.

While everyone is welcome to and encouraged to have their own opinions, statements like this show a profound ignorance of known facts.

No need to rehash all the evidence we now have in favor of the DLM being a legitimate lost mine. It is easy enough to find for anybody who bothers to look.

Best-Mike

 

[gargreen18]

Wow you guys are testy! It was a joke "leave em out there!" Obviously not a proper time to say it. I still stick with my opinion that GREED KILLS! As in this case. They are the uneducated (aka ign0rant) ones. Come on one guy already got rescued the year before and he learned nothing!

Sorry to offend people.

 

[rginn]

Gollum as some very pertinent points about outdoor survival. And I used to do a lot of exploring when it was over 100 degrees in Oklahoma for the very reason that no one else would be out there. I preferred the dead of winter in most places because...no rattlers out. I run into a lot of folks up here way back in the mountains wearing flip-flops, shorts, and T-shirts, and I worry about them. I hope those guys in Arizona turn out all right. Here's one more bit of advice we give flatlanders up here. If you plan on going more than 300 yards from your car, you better plan on and be ready to spend the night. (Remember, it may be 75 degrees in the day, but it will drop down to freezing before daylight at 10,000 ft.)

 

[88 Jesse 88]

Please be kind to the 3 men and their family's...people make mistakes...we want to find them...not berate them for lack of judgement. All sentient beings are valuable. I am not a rocket scientist...
I am a stone carver...mountains are my inspiration. I am working on one for my son...Jesse Capen
This mountain is very rough and full of dangerous terrain..the great eastern sun is rising behind and above the mountain. The stone is marble from the marble quarry in Marble Colorado...the Lincoln memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier are from the this quarry. Jesse's mountain is 400 pounds...I am covering the sun with gold stamped leaf from Italy. The sun is sending rays to all the hidden places...small bits of the gold light the way.

May we all be shown the way when we are lost.

I would like to contact the families of the lost men...If anyone finds an email address please pass it on to me. I know what they are going through..You have no idea what the heart feels when a lost one is missing.