The Leadville Stagecoach Robbery Mystery
Posted 09-14-2007 at 12:53 AM by EPC Guy
Recently, I've been researching Colorado lost treasure tales and found this little gem. Although there is no unrecovered treasure involved - I found it quite interesting, and thought I'd share it here...
...Gold shipments were occasionally shipped by stage from Leadville on the old stagecoach road between Leadville and Buena Vista Colorado. For obvious reasons, the scheduling of these gold shipments was a well guarded secret. In spite of this security, robberies were occurring much too often. It was a mystery how anyone would know when gold would be on the stage.
A "sting" operation was devised to catch the culprit. The plan was a success! The robber hid in some rocks, which lie beside the old stage road just outside of present day Balltown. But, when the robber jumped out, the law was waiting and the robber was shot to death. The real surprise came when the robber's hood was removed, and one of the law officers discovered that the robber was his wife!
Shocked and ashamed, the officer couldn't bear the thought of bringing the body back to town, and so he buried his wife beside the trail where she was killed. The gravestone, which is still easily seen from highway 24, reads: "My Wife - Jane Kirkham - Died March 7, 1879 - Aged 38 years, 3 months, 7 days".
Shawn
...Gold shipments were occasionally shipped by stage from Leadville on the old stagecoach road between Leadville and Buena Vista Colorado. For obvious reasons, the scheduling of these gold shipments was a well guarded secret. In spite of this security, robberies were occurring much too often. It was a mystery how anyone would know when gold would be on the stage.
A "sting" operation was devised to catch the culprit. The plan was a success! The robber hid in some rocks, which lie beside the old stage road just outside of present day Balltown. But, when the robber jumped out, the law was waiting and the robber was shot to death. The real surprise came when the robber's hood was removed, and one of the law officers discovered that the robber was his wife!
Shocked and ashamed, the officer couldn't bear the thought of bringing the body back to town, and so he buried his wife beside the trail where she was killed. The gravestone, which is still easily seen from highway 24, reads: "My Wife - Jane Kirkham - Died March 7, 1879 - Aged 38 years, 3 months, 7 days".
Shawn
Total Comments 3
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What I want to know is....what did she do with all the gold she stole? And was the officer husband in on it the whole time and shot his wife so she wouldn't reveal the truth? HMMMMMMMM
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Posted 09-14-2007 at 11:07 AM by riki727
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LOL! Rikki, you should be a detective! I wish I knew the answers to your questions...perhaps a little more digging - and I can provide an update - and a picture of all the gold I found!
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Posted 09-14-2007 at 11:50 AM by EPC Guy
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My hubby thinks I've too suspicious a personality and too inventive a mind. I can see someone walking innocently down a road and within minutes I've pinpointed which house he's scoping out, where he's hidden his tools, and how he plans on spending his loot.
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Posted 09-14-2007 at 12:07 PM by riki727
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Recent Blog Entries by EPC Guy
- Make the Most of Every Moment - Part II (10-17-2007)
- Make the Most of Every Moment - Part I (10-17-2007)
- The Leadville Stagecoach Robbery Mystery (09-14-2007)
- Digging Up the Past (09-10-2007)
- Inaugural Posting (09-08-2007)
