The cache is not at the above coordinates.

What is known about the thief is that he enjoys numbers and number games and will use numbers even if another way is better.
He does appear to have his act together in most ways but he is still a crook and we know that crime does not pay.
He always leaves two things behind when a theft occurs.
One is a puzzle and the other has something to do with the solution.

The thief does not seem to be a part of the previous gangs.
Because he is the brightest of this group, he is the leader.
We also know that he has lived in Colorado at some time.

You have been assigned to track him down and recover the cache that he has hidden.
This should be the toughest assignment so far but you are good, you will catch the thief.

Alfred Packer

Alfred G. Packer was born on November 21, 1842, in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He had a severe case of epilepsy, which was not understood in those days. He left home at an early age and enlisted in the army at age 20, in Winona, Minnesota. He enlisted as Alferd Packer was discharged after eight months because of his epilepsy. Six months later he re-enlisted in Ottumwa, Iowa and that lasted a year.

In 1873 he settled in Georgetown, Colorado Territory. There his left hand was damaged in a mining accident. About this time it was discovered that bromides were helpful to sufferers of epilepsy and he used them whenever possible.

In the fall of 1873 news of gold in the Colorado mountains was causing much interest. Packer joined a group of 21 men claiming that he had knowledge of the mountains. It soon became apparent that they had insufficient supplies and started eating food meant for the horses. They met a group of Ute Indians who led them to the camp of Chief Ouray near present day Delta, where they received food and shelter. Chief Ouray warned against going any farther because of the weather. They didn't listen.

The men without wagons left in the first group. Packer was in the second group, which left on February 9, 1874. Chief Ouray gave them directions and said that it was seven suns to a cow camp. The first group became immediately lost and got to the cow camp three weeks later almost starved. Packer was next seen over two months later, alone.

Packer might have been ok but as he kept telling his story, it kept changing. He was jailed with no charges filed. A warrant for his arrest was obtained but he had escaped jail and was not seen again for almost ten years.

In April of 1883 he was tried for murder at the Hinsdale Courthouse in Lake City and found guilty. However, in another twist of fate it was found that Colorado had no law regarding murder. It had been repealed in 1870. He was transferred to Gunnison. In 1886 a new trial was held and this time for manslaughter, was found guilty and sentenced to 40 years.

The Denver Post supported Packer and pushed Governor Charles S. Thomas to pardon him. Thomas resisted to the end. On his last day as Governor, Packer was pardoned. Packer moved to a ranch in Littleton and lived another six years. He died in April of 1907 and is buried in a Littleton Cemetery.

The Alfred Packer wannabe: He has blue eyes and light brown hair. He is of medium height and build. He has a mustache and beard.

Jack Slade on the left with Virginia in the window

Jack Slade

Mark Twain wrote two chapters on Jack Slade in his book "Roughing It". Twain seemed to be mesmerized by the name of Jack Slade and the 26 men that he had killed. While travelling westward the stage stopped at a station near Julesburg after having traveled all night. The passengers gathered around the table along with some of the Central Overland Company stagecoach officers. The superintendent, who was dressed better than the rest, sat next to Twain at the head of the table. As introductions were made around the table, Twain was struck with horror as he realized that the superintendent was none other than Jack Slade.

Jack Slade was born in Carlyle, Illinois on January 22, 1831 to wealthy parents but this did not deter him from getting into trouble. He killed a man and disappeared for a couple years and came home to enlist in the army in 1847. The Mexican-American War had just started and Slade wanted to be a part of it. He was honorably discharged in 1848 when the war ended even though he often spent time in the stockade. Slade and liquor did not mix.

He then went to California and then Kansas City where he got a job with Central Overland Company as a teamster. The driving of horse-drawn wagon shipments across 600 miles of prairie seemed to be a good fit. During his first two trips it was reported that he killed a half dozen Indians and several horse thieves. He was looked upon as a hero and was repeatedly promoted until he became superintendent and was responsible for overseeing 500 miles of trail from Julesburg to the southwest corner of present day Wyoming . While superintendent he met Jules Beni at the Julesburg station and took an instant dislike to him. However, Indians were his main concern. Soon Slade was checking into the many robberies in the area and they seem to point to Jules. Beni did not hesitate in getting a shotgun and went looking for Slade and when he found him shot him with both barrels in the chest. Carefully reloaded and shot him twice more in the back. And then to be sure, shot him one more time and said, Bury Him". Slade slowly lifted his head and said, "I shall live long enough to wear one of your ears on my watch guard. You needn't trouble yourself about my burial." The town's people save Slade from another shot. Slade was hauled 800 miles to St. Louis to find a doctor who could help him. It took Slade a year to recover and then he made good on his boast. In 1857 Slade met a woman named Maria Virginia. They would stay together for the rest of his life. The stage line transferred Slade to a nice valley north of present-day Ft. Collins and he named the station for Virginia. Today it is called Virginia Dale. In 1860 the company had just started a new venture called The Pony Express. One of the first applicants was a boy of fourteen who convinced Slade that he could make the ride. Billy remained with the company for two years and said that Slade never said an unkind word to him. Billy was William Cody, later to be known as Buffalo Bill.

His love of liquor got him fired and he started his own freight line near Virginia City, Montana. Both the venture and Slade were short lived. In 1864 in one of his drunken rampages through the town a local vigilante group captured and lynched him.

Virginia was brought to town by one of Jack's friends, took his body home, pickled it in alcohol in a metal casket, and kept it under her bed for several months. She then took it to Salt Lake City, Utah and buried him in the old Mormon Cemetery where his body remains today. Jack Slade is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery in Block B, Lot 6, Grave 7.

The Jack Slade wannabe: Nowhere near the man that his namesake is. He has dark brown eyes and dark hair. He is tall and thin. Strangely, he sports a mustache and no beard. His record is clean.

Hanging tree at 10th and Wazee Streets

James Gordon

James Gordon and his father moved to a farm north of Denver in the mid 1800s. He didn't like farm work and went to the big city of Denver for his entertainment.

He liked to drink and he was a mean drunk. On July 18, 1860 he started drinking at a saloon on Arapahoe Street. The more he drank the meaner he got and the patrons were getting nervous because he was waving his pistol in the air. The bartender, Frank O'Neill, tried to calm him down and was shot for his effort. He survived and James apologized to him. Two days later he visited a bar called the Dance Hall and then dropped in at the Elephant Corral. Again got drunk and shot at Big Phil, twice, and missed. Gordon then moved on to the Louisiana Saloon on Blake Street, shooting a dog along the way. There he had a run in with a German, Jacob Gantz. Gordon knocked him down and put his pistol to the German's head pulled the trigger and the gun did not fire. He kept pulling the trigger until it fired and killed Gantz instantly.

Gordon escaped, got a mule and went to Bent's Fort and eventually to Texas. Meanwhile, back in Denver, W.H. Middaugh was appointed to get him and he did. The chase was interesting but long so it will not be given here. The same is true of the trip back to Denver.

James Gordon was hanged on October 6th in 1860 at age 23.

The James Gordon wannabe: He has dark brown eyes and dark hair. He is of medium height and build. He is clean shaven. Has a long record.

Jefferson Smith

Jefferson Randolph Smith was born in 1860 in Noonan, Georgia. His father's side of the family were well educated and well to do. Following the civil War, the family moved to Texas and Smith became a cowhand. His parents wanted him to take up law or the ministry.

The rough life did not appeal to him but it brought him into contact with the local gambling halls of San Antonio. His quick mind quickly grasped the finesse needed to play poker and win. When the circus came to town, he discovered something even more exciting. A man named Clubfoot Hall was operating a shell game outside of a big tent and Smith was completely dazzled. When he found out how it was done he made the decision that he wanted to earn his living this way. He was good and quickly filled his pockets with money. He moved to Houston, through some Kansas towns and on to Leadville, Colorado. He was just 25 and grew a beard to look older.

He met "Old Man Taylor" who was also running a shell game. He was the best that Smith had ever seen. They became partners. They developed a con where money appeared to be wrapped in a bar of soap, tossed into a tub and then sold for $5. Of course most dupes got just the soap. Taylor quit the business and moved to Minneapolis and Smith took over.

He set up shop at 17th and Larimer, in Denver, and became known as "Soapy Smith" because of his con. Cons were a borderline business and were mostly ignored. His contributions to the police helped. All other con men in Denver had to answer to him. Eventually he owned other gambling halls and had most politicians in his pocket. He married and had three children who were sheltered from his lifestyle.

It seemed that the only one not under his control was the Rocky Mountain News who had many articles on him, none favorable. They also explained how his cons worked. Soapy went to the newspaper office and, using a cane, beat up Colonel John Arkins, president of the printing company. The RMN continued their attack and eventually drove Soapy out of town to Edgewater. Then the RMN continued their attack and exposed the protection being given to Soapy by the Edgewater police.

From Edgewater, he went to Creede, where he again set up his empire. The only nemesis for Smith was Bob Ford, who ran a dancehall and lived above it. However, Ford had his own problems because he had shot Jesse James in the back in Missouri and no one liked him. Smith and Ford met and Ford never bothered Smith after that. Bob Ford was gunned down on Main Street by Ed Kelly and there were numerous witnesses. Soapy defended him to keep him from being lynched.

Soapy acquired an oversized cement figure and he said it was dug up in the mountains above Creede. He said that it was a petrified giant and people paid to see it. He sold it to P.T. Barnum. He salted a mine and sold it to two "Easterners" for $2500. New politicians had been elected to clean up crime and cons were one of them. He went back to Denver and wasn't welcome there either. He then went to Skagway, Alaska to set up shop. There he had a shootout with a vigilante group and lost. It was July 8, 1898. He was 38.

In the 1980s a bar was opened in Denver named "Soapy Smith's."

The Jefferson Smith wannabe: He has brown eyes and hair. He is of medium height and a bit on the heavy side. He has a mustache and beard.

Jim Clark

Jim Clark was born around 1841 in Clay County, Missouri and led a colorful career. As a teenager he, and a friend, stole his stepfather's mule, rode to San Antonio, sold the mule, bought some fancy clothes and a pair of six-guns and then robbed a stockman. They returned home and Jim's stepfather was less than pleased.

The Clark family moved to Jackson county, Missouri and took in borders. One border was William Quantrill who had come from Ohio to teach school. He became good friends of the Clarks. In the mid-1850s, William's brother asked him to travel to California with him and he did. The people of Missouri and Kansas were at war with each other over the slavery issue and many were killed. The Quantrill brothers were caught in a skirmish with General Lane's division of Jayhawkers. William's brother was killed and he was severely injured. He would have died except for an old Indian who cared for him. He returned to the Clark family to plot his revenge, but what could one person do?

He went to Leavenworth, Kansas and joined General Lane's Jayhawkers. By 1858 he was trained as a solder and became a first lieutenant. He began to methodically kill each fellow soldier that had been responsible for his brother's death. He left before being caught and formed a band of guerrillas of about 350 men who fought against the people of Kansas.

Jim Clark had kept track of William and at age 18 joined his group. He was good with a gun and became one of Quantrill's most trusted soldiers. In 1860 they joined the confederate side of the Civil War. The James Brothers and the Younger Brothers also joined the Raiders. When William was killed, Clark joined Jesse James and the Younger gang.

As time went on he split with the gang and went to Leadville where he did some mining. He was a big man and this work made him quite strong. There was a $100 purse for anyone who could stay in the ring with a professional boxer. Jim accepted and managed to stay the five minutes. He said that it was the toughest $100 that he ever earned. He knew Luke Short, a local bandit and it was suspected they worked together.

In 1887 he arrived in Telluride and took a job digging a pipeline and made a cabin for his home. The town was lawless and the marshal was afraid to stand up to the drunken ruffians who shot up the town every night. Clark offered the mayor his services to tame the town and the mayor made him a deputy. That night the town experienced the first peace and quiet it had had for a long time. He never drew his guns. If the rowdy started to draw his gun, Clark slugged him. Deputy Clark was made Marshal Clark the next morning.

On June 24, 1889, about noon, three men rode into town and robbed San Miguel County bank. One stayed with the horses while the other two robbed the bank. As they rode out of town they whooped and hollered and shot their guns in the air. The bank had just been robbed by Butch Cassidy, Tom McCarty and Matt Warner. Clark later said that he received $2200 for staying out of town that day.

He had a soft side also. One evening Clark was making his rounds and saw a small boy struggling up a hill with two buckets of water and rushed to help him take the water uphill to his mom's cabin. She was a washerwoman. He got an old horse and a whiskey barrel to haul the water. He loaned money to many of the people in town.

Never-the-less, the town council grew tired of hearing of the bad side of Clark and replaced him. The council still wanted him out of town one way or another. While making his rounds on August 6, 1895 he was shot and killed. It was thought that a council member did it. He was 54.

The Jim Clark wannabe: He has brown eyes and hair. He is tall and strong. He has a mustache but no beard.

Fairplay about 1860

Jim Reynolds

Jim Reynolds was born in Texas in the early 1840s. He and his gang appeared in Colorado in 1863 in the South Park area near Fairplay. They worked at various jobs but work didn't seem to suit them.

Even after they gave up work completely, they seemed to have plenty of money and this did not go unnoticed. They left town and stole openly.

They headed to Dan McLaughlin's stage station, about eight miles out of Fairplay, where the town of Como is today. Stealing cash, a gold watch, and the horses, they made off with about $3,000. Then heading over Kenosha pass toward Denver, they robbed the Michigan House stage stop, taking horses.

A gentleman by the name of Mr. Berry began to warn everyone of the gang and their thievery trying to raise a posse without success. Not to be deterred, Mr. Berry followed the gang as far as the Omaha House stage station near the present day town of Conifer. From the Omaha House, the gang headed towards Shaffer's Crossing.

Finally, a posse was organized and on July 30, 1864, the outlaws were spotted camping in a forest. A gunfight quickly ensued, leaving one outlaw by the name of Owen Singleterry dead. One posse member, a Dr. Cooper, cut off Singleterry's head, took it back to Fairplay and preserved it in alcohol, where it supposedly remained for many years. The gang buried their loot and split up, fleeing the area. It was estimated that the gang had taken somewhere between $5,000 and $100,000 and area locals blamed them for every robbery within miles.

Eventually there were enough posses that the last five were caught and turned over to the military to take them to Fort Leavenworth. The next day the Captain returned saying all had been shot trying to escape.

A local scout traveling from Fort Leavenworth to Denver stopped at the ghost town of Russellville to look around and found five men tied to trees, all had been shot.

The Jim Reynolds wannabe: He has dark brown eyes and dark hair. He is tall and thin. He is clean shaven.

Okay, Master Detective, here is your first case. They robbed a bank in Creede. Each thief took his position quickly. They knew where to go.

First Witness: I hid behind the counter.

Second Witness: The glare through the front window made it tough to see.

Third Witness: They were not amateurs. The leader said something about catching a plane.

Police officer: The lead teller gave me the note that had been handed to him. It has a bunch of numbers on the back side that don't mean much.

135 02468 86420 75324 4135678 13579 98642 123456 97248 64837 72648
124 02468 95182 19824 4193256 91428 97531 123456 35742 02468 86420

Use for all cases.

Ignore - "The Coordinates are not Quite Right"

Additional Waypoints

Alfred Packer

The Alfred Packer wannabe: He has blue eyes and light brown hair. He is of medium height and build. He has a mustache and beard.

Jack Slade on the left with Virginia in the window

Jack Slade

The Jack Slade wannabe: Nowhere near the man that his namesake is. He has dark brown eyes and dark hair. He is tall and thin. Strangely, he sports a mustache and no beard. His record is clean.

Hanging tree at 10th and Wazee Streets

James Gordon

The James Gordon wannabe: He has dark brown eyes and dark hair. He is of medium height and build. He is clean shaven. Has a long record.

Jefferson Smith

The Jefferson Smith wannabe: He has brown eyes and hair. He is of medium height and a bit on the heavy side. He has a mustache and beard.

Jim Clark

The Jim Clark wannabe: He has brown eyes and hair. He is tall and strong. He has a mustache but no beard.

Fairplay about 1860

Jim Reynolds

The Jim Reynolds wannabe: He has dark brown eyes and dark hair. He is tall and thin. He is clean shaven.

135 02468 86420 75324 4135678 13579 98642 123456 97248 64837 72648 124 02468 95182 19824 4193256 91428 97531 123456 35742 02468 86420

Use for all cases. Ignore - "The Coordinates are not Quite Right"

135 02468 86420 75324 4135678 13579 98642 123456 97248 64837 72648
124 02468 95182 19824 4193256 91428 97531 123456 35742 02468 86420

Use for all cases.

Ignore - "The Coordinates are not Quite Right"