An FBI agent applied for a federal warrant in 2018 to seize a cache of gold that he said had been “stolen during the Civil War” while en route to the U.S.
The newly unsealed affidavit confirms previous reporting by The Associated Press that the federal government had been looking for a legendary cache of gold at the site, which the agency had long refused to confirm.
The AP and The Philadelphia Inquirer petitioned a federal judge to unseal the case.
“I have probable cause to believe that a significant cache of gold is secreted in the underground cave” in Dents Run, holding “one or more tons” belonging to the U.S.
According to the affidavit, the FBI based its request for a seizure warrant partly on work done by a father-son pair of treasure hunters who had made hundreds of trips to the area.
After meeting with the treasure hunters in early 2018, the FBI brought in a contractor with more sophisticated instruments.