From time to time, someone will approach me about buried treasures. Some stories have been embellished over the years, especially that of Harry Gordier’s gold and the Holden Dick Mine.
Then there are the lesser known tales, which are actually true,and not folklore. In the book Untold Stories, I relate the story of Chauncey Smith, since only a portion of his hidden cache of money was ever found. There is, of course, the great Westwood bank robbery, that to this day the money has never been recovered. In August, 1926 a portion of Red River’s monthly payroll shipment consisting of $45,000 never made it Westwood from the Reno bank. One theory was the money was stashed along the mountainside between Doyle and Milford. In June 1927, Red River thought they had found thief, in one A.A. Bruce who formerly worked for the railway express offices in Reno and Westwood. Bruce was arrested and his Reno home searched. However, when a preliminary hearing was held in Susanville, Bruce was released from custody as there was insufficient evidence to charge him with the crime. No one was ever charged, and the money never found.