Joaquin Murrieta was the most successful stage robber leading a band of nearly 100 outlaws, and amassing enormous treasure which is believed to be cached in the Tejon Pass area. Explore More

In the 1870s, a mysterious traveler who was sick and frail staggered into a St. Louis boardinghouse run by a widowed mother. He paid for his stay with gold nuggets and, as he lay dying, scribbled a map and coded directions to a place with unimaginable riches in California to repay her kindness. The map was passed down for generations, and the family made multiple trips to search for the treasure, but it was never found. Explore More

On June 30, 1864, armed men stopped two Pioneer Stage Line coaches on the Placerville-Carson route near present-day Pollock Pines, California in El Dorado County. The robbers had been hiding at Bullion Bend and ambushed the stage, seizing $40,000 in bullion and treasure. The men behind the hold-up later claimed the money would support Confederate recruiting efforts in California. Even after they were caught or killed, most of the loot was never accounted for. Explore More

A wealthy cattle rancher, Francisco Avila (1772-1832), who had saved up about $100,000 in gold coins and jewels, fearing bandits, decided to bury his fortune on his land, selecting a canyon in what is now Elysian Park in Los Angeles. Francisco is said to have died shortly after he buried the treasure. So did the Indian friend who helped him bury the cache.  Supposedly, only his wife then knew of its location, and on her death bed she shared the story of her husband’s buried treasure with a young girl. This young girl is said to have shared it with others who searched for the hidden treasure for years, but it was never found. Explore More

An old priest before his death hid a treasure in the San Roque Canyon, which explorers believed was in an area with a deeply marked very large cross symbol carved into the gnarled trunk of a huge tree, and another tree 20 feet away from the first having the mark of a Tomahawk. Treasure seekers tried to interpret the symbols and dig holes or look under rocks for the treasure in several spots, but never were able to find it. Explore More