An FBI agent utilized for a federal warrant in 2018 to grab a fabled cache of U.S. authorities gold he stated was “stolen during the Civil War” and hidden in a Pennsylvania cave, saying the state would possibly take the gold for itself if the feds requested for permission, based on courtroom paperwork unsealed Thursday.
The newly unsealed affidavit confirms previous reporting by The Associated Press that the federal government had been searching for a legendary cache of gold on the website, which federal authorities had lengthy refused to substantiate. In any case, the FBI stated, the dig got here up empty.
The AP and The Philadelphia Inquirer petitioned a federal decide to unseal the case. Federal prosecutors didn’t oppose the request, and the decide agreed, paving the way in which for Thursday’s launch of paperwork.
“I have probable cause to believe that 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. authorities, wrote Jacob Archer of the FBI’s artwork crime crew in Philadelphia.
Archer informed the decide he wanted a seizure warrant as a result of he feared that if the federal authorities sought permission from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to excavate the location, the state would declare the gold for itself, establishing a pricey authorized battle.