My Grandfather's Tale Of A Privateer & Hijacked Gold Shipment

[GhostMiner]

On 3/19/2022 at 3:57 PM, GhostMiner said:

   I remember my grandfather telling this story more than once when I was a little kid. I don't think my father ever believed it or maybe he thought it was only partially true. However, he thought enough of it to write down all the details my grandfather told him. I remember wanting to go look for the gold. I was about 10 yrs old. My father just laughed & said it would be a waste of time & money. My dad was a WW2 vet and became a prison gaurd & eventually got into industrial production with a big company. He had no time for things like this nor was he interested. I think if it was buried it probably wouldn't be very deep. I have a few ideas of where it might be because my grandfather took me aside one day about a month before he died. He told me a few things that he hadn't told my father because he said he didn't believe him. He gave me some landmarks to look for and very vague locations to check. I'm not sure how much of the story I believe either. My father said that my great great grandfather was a part owner of a gold mine in California but there were several other partners. I was only able to verify one descendant of one of them and when I contacted them they thought I was completely off my rocker. That was the end of that LOL. I've always wondered about the story and now that I have a grandson who is 2 yrs old i'm thinking of telling him about it when he's older. Maybe when he's old enough the two of us will go looking for that buried cache of gold. Perhaps we just might find it.

   I have recieved some new and mysterious information concerning this gold shipment and where it may be hidden. It seems my grandfather knew what he was talking about and the scope for a possible search may have been narrowed. The person who contacted me is willing to share more info but wants to be a part of the search crew if we form one. He also wants a large cut. I am wary of his offer though. This is an interesting time for me as I am preparing to leave society as I know it next year. I am selling my home and bought a 5th wheel to live out of. My goal is to not only search for treasure but also work my company's unleased areas where I believe large amounts of gold still remain to be dug. I have good reason to believe there is still several million dollars of gold yet to be found at Jed's dig site. 

[GhostMiner]

   This is a rather humorous standoff between me and this person claiming to have solid info on a general location. It seems he needs me as much or more than I need him. He tells me I probably have inside information passed down by my grandfather that he needs to complete the puzzle. I have not given out any good information to anyone on any of this and would be hesitant to do so. At this point in time the two of us are in what I would call an uneasy standoff - neither party willing to give up info to the other but wanting info from the other if some trusting relationship or business partnership could be established. Oh well, if there is such a treasure, it isn't going anywhere. 

[GhostMiner]

   One last thing I should mention  -  this person claims to be in possession of an actual piece of the gold shipment. He refuses to tell me how he got it. He is willing to show it to me at some point. I guess this is to convince me that he holds the last piece of the puzzle needed for me to solve the mystery. 

[GhostMiner]

   About 20 years after my grandfather passed away years ago my father retired. I asked him if he would be interested in searching for the lost gold shipment. He said no, he wasn't interested. I asked him why. He told me that this was just an old yarn my grandfather had been telling certain people in the family for years. He said that as a young boy he had remembered a night when the family was together and my great grandfather was talking about the missing gold shipment. He said he couldn't remember much about the conversation but told me that he seemed to be serious. However, no one in the family believed it other than my grandfather. My father said that treasure hunting was a big waste of time that could be used for something more productive. He told me that every man is given a finite amount of time to live on this earth and that he should not waste it chasing rainbows. That was his opinion and I suppose he was entitled to it. My father passed away years ago and we never discussed the gold shipment again. Now I have a 3 year old grandson that I will eventually pass down this story to. That is, if I haven't found it by the time he is old enough to understand it. I am hopeful that someday the two of us could spend some time together searching for this treasure. That would actually be the real treasure.

[Old Miner Don]

Anything new happening with this?

[GhostMiner]

   Yes. 

[GhostMiner]

On 3/19/2022 at 11:06 AM, GhostMiner said:

   This is a story that originated with my great great grandfather & was told to me many years ago by my grandfather. It has never been verified  :  A raw gold shipment from a mine in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California bound for processing was hijacked on a lonely mountain road & taken to a port on the west coast. The haul was purported to be somewhere between $50,000 - $75,000 at the time of the theft. A ship sat waiting to be loaded and a man by the name of William Shears was the captain. They sailed north along the coast all the way to Washington state where they unloaded the booty & buried most of it. My grandfather told me he believed it is still there. 

   According to my grandfather the shipment was placer gold & was heading for a small smelting operation not too far from the mine. Someone had advance knowledge of the date of shipment and planned the robbery. He said there were five armed men on horseback who did the strong arm robbery while taking the two freight men hostage. By the time the mine owners were notified of the heist it was too late to find it. The thieves had planned everything out. They took it by water to a remote location far from the place of the robbery.

   How did my grandfather know this? It seems my great great grandfather was one of the mine owners. My grandfather called the ship captain a privateer. According to his story the  thieves ran into problems moving the raw ore once back on land in Washington state & buried a good part of it. He said there was information given to the family back in the early 1900's that the gold was never found due to changes in terrain due to severe storms. However, my grandfather told me he thought he had a good idea of where the gold was hidden but was too old to look for it & my father had no time or interest in conducting a treasure hunt. 

   My grandfather believed a man named William Shears was responsible for the planning of the heist. He said he was a sea captain from England with a bad reputation. As he told the story, Captain Shears took the ore into the harbor at Bellingham, Washington where it was off loaded into a freight wagon to be transported into Canada which he said was about 30 miles north. He said something happened on the way to Canada but refused to tell me what for some reason. At this time in his life he was very sick & frail and I didn't want to push him for more than he wanted to give. He said the gold was hidden in freight containers that were disguised as other items. He said there was an old road up there where the freight wagon stopped and the gold was buried not too far off the road. Why they didn't make it into Canada & who was waiting for it there is a mystery.

   With some help in research I found out there was indeed a Captain William Shears recorded in the 1851 census records. His address was Elliot Court Enumeration District Marlborough King in Devonshire county. His place of birth was Devonshire England and he was 46 years old in 1851. He was listed as married to wife Sarah age 43 & had a son James age 7 & daughter Mary age 2. Occupation was listed as Master Mariner. I have no idea if there really is a buried cache of gold somewhere between Bellingham & Canada but the story is intriguing.

   Well, it has been just over 2 yrs since this story was posted and I have much to tell everyone  including my adventures looking for this treasure last yr. Expect more to come on all this very soon. Cheers.

[GhostMiner]

   So my small crew of treasure hunters did indeed spend the last part of Summer 2023 as well as early Fall out in the state of Washington. We hired a purported expert metal detectorist ? that was with us part of the time. He (or she) (we aren't allowed to disclose the name) seemed to know what they were doing. Lord knows I am clueless on that subject. I am also not allowed to disclose the brand of detector at this time but it is a well known company and the detectors used were quite expensive. There was a producer with us on certain days when we had significant things to film and record. Of course now everyone might want to know what we found (if anything.) And where exactly did we search? I guess we had better go back to the beginning and start there so it all makes some sense. We'll start with some further preliminary info and then get into Day one. I will say that it took me a lot longer to get this hunt started. I learned some very valuable lessons along the way such as who is reliable and who is not. I spent a year and a half of my own time and money before I ever stepped foot in the state of Washington. 

   TO BE CONTINUED .............

[GhostMiner]

   “ My Grandfather’s Tale Of A Privateer And Hijacked Gold Shipment “

 

                                                      The Beginning

 

   The realization of what I wanted to do hit me in the Spring of 2022. I actually was seriously contemplating putting a team of treasure hunters together to look for a supposed lost gold shipment that had occurred nearly 160 years ago. Then it was pointed out to me that the value of this gold in today’s currency would be somewhere between 5 & 8 million dollars. Could this even be possible? Would anyone take me seriously? 

   It all started one cold Winter night early in 2022. I had been posting this information on several websites. It was just before dinner time when the phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number and figured it was probably some scammer or spammer trying to sell me something or get my information. I let the answering machine take a message. It was someone who I had actually heard of before and I was somewhat familiar with his work. I googled the name to dig up further info on him and told my wife who had called. Her response was why would he bother calling me? I explained everything and she thought I should call him back. What would I even say? After all, the only thing I had was my grandfather's story that had been handed down to him and then my father who had scoffed at it. The only concrete thing I actually had was the research that had been done on the name of the privateer. That and my grandfather's word that what he told me was true. I decided to return the call.

   To my surprise the person I spoke with did not make fun of the story or try to shoot it full of holes. The first thing he wanted to know - was I on the level and did I believe it? I answered yes. Then he went on to tell me that he had personally verified my information about the privateer and he was real. He also had information on certain times when this privateer was actually sailing on the west coast of the United States.This had caused him to dig deeper and he was able to verify that my great great grandfather was indeed a partner in a fairly large scale gold mining operation in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains of California. This verified for me what I had been told.

   He also told me he had in his possession a list of gold shipment robberies that had taken place and they fit the time period. Several were by Black Bart himself. There were several other’s done by unknown robbers. He told me that to cut to the chase he was of the opinion that what I was told was true. He was not able to verify the amount of gold in the stolen shipments but explained that the values were most likely in the $5 to $10 million area in today’s currency. Possibly more. He wanted to meet with me to further discuss a treasure hunting venture. 

   We set up a meeting for a week later. He flew into an airport near me and I picked him up and took him directly to my house. He was all business but also quite pleasant. I told him I had been getting ready to personally fund a treasure hunt. He was impressed by my conviction and offered me a deal where he would supply some key personnel on the research end. He would take a small percentage if we found anything and he also recommended several people he had previously worked with for a team. I would still be able to pick people as well and would be involved in the decision making.

   His percentage was very reasonable and we seemed to hit it off right from the start. The two of us spent the next day drawing up a Memorandum Of Understanding and we took it to my lawyer. Then he left and told me to call him when I was ready or if I had any questions. My lawyer advised me to request several small changes and when that was done our agreement was complete. I was to help lead a treasure hunting group in the quest to find an actual lost gold shipment. I had no idea what an adventure this was going to become. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ............

 

[GhostMiner]

  Day 1

 

   I was quite nervous when I arrived at Drayton Harbor just outside the town of Blaine Washington. I was alone and preparing to meet my team. I will use names that may or may not be the actual names based on authorization from each individual. There was Gary, the metal detecting expert, professional treasure hunter Jackson & assistant Dave, research team Larry & Frank, & film producer Nelson. Six people in all plus myself. I immediately felt outnumbered and was thinking to myself what I had started. There was no turning back now.

   There was a large motorhome parked near the water and we sat outside at a table looking out at the water. Pleasantries were exchanged and then Jackson asked me if I knew why we were all meeting at this location. My answer was a quick no. He proceeded to tell me that his research had indicated that this location, not Bellingham, was the area where Captain Shears offloaded the hijacked gold shipment onto the waiting freight wagon. He told the team that Bellingham was only a stop off point to pick up some stolen jewelry and coin plunder that had arrived days before. Evidently, there was more involved here than a simple gold shipment robbery. The heists were likely committed by a sophisticated ring of thieves. Then he turned over the meeting to researchers Larry and Frank.

   According to them, there had been multiple strong arm robberies in Nevada and northern California involving banks, gold shipments, and jewelry heists. This was all planned out by a master group of thieves and their henchmen. The stolen goods were stored in several clandestine locations with the intent to ship everything out in a large-scale move into Canada where a very wealthy criminal ring based out of England was waiting. The large treasure hoard was to be sold at a reduced value to its real worth. In other words, it was being laundered for pennies on the dollar. 

   Larry and Frank told me that what my grandfather had told me was just the tip of the iceberg. They took out a briefcase and set it on the table. When they popped it open there were copies of old newspaper clippings as well as a number of very old police reports. I was blown away. These people had done a tremendous amount of research work and knew much more than I could have ever dreamed of.

   Jackson had lined up a place for all of us to stay for the night and eventually we all headed to our lodge. I was given copies of the research and spent quite a bit of time reading and rereading everything. What they didn’t give me was the plan for the treasure hunt and where it would begin. They told me that information would be disclosed the next day.

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............