Back in March of 2021, it was reported by the Associated Press that the FBI was engaged in a pretty unusual project for a law enforcement agency: searching for buried treasure. It came out then that in 2018, FBI agents swarmed upon a remote part of Pennsylvania woods in search of a legendary shipment of gold that was either lost or stolen during the Civil War in 1863. The US government has stayed secretive over whether the shipment was found, and now new witnesses have come forth to share details about the search with the AP.
The FBI's search for buried gold is at the center of a legal battle over records of the search and whether or not it was successful. A judge over a recent ruling summed up the situation like this: "The FBI may have found the gold — or maybe not."
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The FBI's claim is that nothing came of their search under the ground of Dents Run, Pennsylvania. Treasure hunter Dennis Parada says otherwise, and is taking the FBI to court in order to reveal the truth. Now, Dents Run elk guide Eric McCarthy is coming forth to share his own testimony with the press, believing that Parada was given an unfair shake and that he happened to see the FBI take something "heavy" out of the ground and ship it elsewhere during a routine elk hunt back in 2018. And the AP got confirmation of McCarthy's story from Don Reichel, the client who McCarthy was guiding in an elk hunt that morning:
"Reached by phone, Reichel, McCarthy's 73-year-old shed hunting client, corroborated his account of hearing early-morning clatter and seeing a loaded truck on March 14, 2018. Their recollections echo earlier statements from residents who told the AP of hearing a backhoe and jackhammer overnight and seeing a convoy of FBI vehicles, including armored trucks."
FBI spokesperson Carrie Adamowski says otherwise:
"No gold or other items of evidence were located or collected. The FBI continues to unequivocally reject any claims or speculation to the contrary."
McCarthy's timeline conflicts with the FBI's in multiple ways, most notably in his assertion that the FBI was performing "night digs" after hours on the site, something the FBI also denies. But Parada and his treasure hunting team think that the FBI was digging after dark in order to remove the gold from the site in secret.
Legends of lost Civil War gold shipments are well known in the area, but few if any of these buried treasures have ever been found. But treasure hunter Parada believes that the FBI found something and that now they're trying to keep it a secret, for unknown reasons.
As for how much such a gold shipment would be worth, no one who's talking can say for sure. But in 2021 it was reported to be in the neighborhood of "hundreds of millions" if the legends proved true.
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