On the morning of February 1, 2012, before the general public began entering the Siskiyou County Courthouse, County Maintenance Supervisor Billy McCully and two others entered the building on their way to work. Once inside, they were shocked to discover that the gold display in the front entryway had been severely compromised. For decades it had proudly displayed a fortune in gold discovered in the hills, mountains, rivers, and streams of Siskiyou County since the 1850’s. They saw that a hole had been smashed in one of the glass panels of the display large enough for a man to put his arm through, and that a significant portion of the contents of the display was gone!
The two perpetrators of the crime, Scott Wayne Bailey and David Dean Johnson, were ultimately caught, and both have served time for their crime, long since completed. The Lexington Insurance Company paid $1,201,406.02 to the County to cover the loss. But the bulk of the stolen gold has never been recovered. Where is it? I have often wondered if anyone has paid attention to the lifestyles of Scott Wayne Bailey and David Dean Johnson after they were released from their terms of incarceration. Are they basking on a beautiful beach in South America? Probably not, but I really don’t know.
One Comment
“Yreka is crying out for something or somethings to help with its re-vitalization. The heart and soul of Yreka is its Old West history, specifically its Gold Rush Days. The gold collection personifies that Old West history.”
When someone cries about their “precious” and their “Gold Rush culture”, I am going to keep pointing them to read Benjamin Madley’s “An American Genocide”.
These articles SHOULD NOT be glorified!