The
past five or six decades have produced a variety of
missing person reports within the contemporary
boundaries of the Superstition Wilderness Area. Many
of these missing person reports have been resolved
when the missing person shows up at home or in
another state claiming he didn’t think any one would
miss him. A vast majority of these missing person
reports are resolved by telephone calls between
relatives of the missing person. However, there are
those reports that defy explanation and no clues
have ever been found. Many involved strange
incidents involving prospectors and treasure
hunters.
Some of these missing person cases are actually very
bizarre. For example Adolph Ruth was reported
missing in early June of 1931. The mountains were
searched for almost eight weeks in the hottest part
of the summer. Yet, no sign of Ruth was discovered.
On December 10, 1931, Ruth’s skull was found near
the First Water- Charlebois Trail just north of
Bluff Springs Mountain and south of the Red Hills.
The rest of his skeletal remains were found January
6, 1931. Ruth’s death was responsible for much
speculation ranging from suicide, accidental death
to homicide. His death still confuses many and its
cause is still speculated.
Ruth’s disappearance was followed by Charley
Williams, a World War I veteran, who went into the
Superstition Mountains searching for gold. On
January 5, 1935, Williams was reported missing. On
January 8, 1935 Williams stumbled out of the
mountains with a pocket full of gold nuggets telling
a weird tale about being injured and not remembering
anything. Eventually Williams’ gold was confiscated
by the United States Government because it was
dental gold, not natural gold. Williams was never
charged for illegal possession of gold, but again
there was a tremendous amount of speculations about
his disappearance...
Tom
Kollenborn - is a noted author and historian of
the Superstition Wilderness. He is also one of the
leading experts on the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine
legend and has written numerous articles and books
about the Apache Trail and related history. Tom
shares his experience with the public every week in
the