Demise of the PC Blue
A Park City Historical Mystery
This
cache is part of a series. Please see
Mystery of the PC Blue 1 for
details.
With the
permanent move of
Seawind
(the creator of the PC Blue series) to Oregon and the subsequent archival of the
caches, we wanted to keep the story of the PC Blue alive and preserve the work
that went into the series. Following is the original text regarding the
exploration of this fascinating subject:
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While
doing research in the Park City Library for a pending puzzle cache, I came
across an amazing account of an incident in local history. Finding it very
intriguing, I did some more digging and eventually made a visit to the site of
the incident, not more than a short drive and hike from the library. Of
course, I couldn't resist placing a cache there, and sharing a very abbreviated
version of the history with you.
In the
late 1950s, an immigrant from Australia, Lachlan Arnold, moved from Sydney to
Park City, Utah. The accounts don't mention a reason for the move. A
truck driver by trade, he soon had employment driving loads of silver ore from
the only remaining active mine in Park City to Midvale for processing. He
moved into a modest home just outside downtown Park City and continued driving
the same route for several years.
Although
the silver mining industry in Park City was largely dormant by the early 1960s,
there was still enough activity to make it economically worthwhile, and a
handful of residents had built mansions in and near Park City after amassing
considerable wealth from the mines they owned. In addition to silver and
silver ore, there was a need to transport a fair amount of cash between Park
City and Salt Lake City and other points west. This flow of cash made a
tempting target for armed robbers, and there were a few incidences of successful
heists along the route.
In an
attempt to prevent further loss, Wells Fargo, the primary transporter of cash
and other valuables, made a decision to move some of the money in unmarked
vehicles, rather than in armored transport trucks, which were very obvious
targets. Following up with the plan, Lachlan Arnold and three other truck
drivers were approached and soon hired in an experiment for alternate cash
transport.
In 1962,
Lachlan made the first transport of several bags of cash in addition to the
usual load of silver ore. For the additional responsibility, he was paid a
significant amount, more than doubling his original salary. After a few
months of this added work, he was able to purchase a new truck, a large (for
those days) 27,000 pound capacity Ford painted a bright blue. Due to its
unique color scheme, the truck was soon fondly referred to as "PC Blue" as it
made its way through the streets of Park City.
The
surviving accounts of the events of February 18, 1962, are few and somewhat in
contradiction. However, I have pieced together what I believe is an
accurate picture of what happened, and the mysteries that ensued. Much of
this is derived from the actual notes and testimonies from Lachlan Arnold
himself. From everything I have read, Lachlan was the very picture of
dependability, honesty and level-headedness.
That
February evening was very cold and a heavy snow was falling. Lachlan
almost decided to cancel the run from Park City to Salt Lake, but decided to
proceed, not wanting to fall behind schedule. He was carrying a load of
13,000 pounds of silver ore and cash in the amount of $650,000 in unmarked bags.
Other than the weather, it was a fairly typical run.
Lachlan
was following the usual road (what is now Highway 224), driving slowly in
white-out conditions, when a figure appeared in the middle of the road in his
path. Slamming on the brakes, he slid to a stop just feet from a tall,
thin man standing still in the middle of the road. Lachlan's memories were
dimmed by impending events, but he does recall the stranger was wearing an
Aussie-style hat similar to his own, and that he seemed friendly and not at all
cold or bothered by the frigid winter conditions in which he was standing, many
miles from any form of shelter.
The
stranger stepped up to Lachlan's window and introduced himself as "Sandy" and
asked if he could get a lift to Salt Lake City. Not realizing at the time
that the fact that the stranger knew his destination should have been a red
flag, Lachlan agreed, knowing that the fellow's chances of survival in those
conditions were slim. Thus, despite Wells Fargo's prohibition of anyone
other than the driver being in the vehicle, the two continued on the journey to
Salt Lake.
Lachlan
claims to remember nothing of their conversation, only recalling that conditions
were getting worse and worse and that they were likely to end up stuck in the
deepening snow drifts. The wind was howling outside and visibility was
zero. He did recall, though, that Sandy told him that "he had better take
the Hellgate Cutoff" if they wanted to make Salt Lake that evening.
Lachlan, who always followed exactly the same route, was not familiar with the
suggested cutoff. Sandy explained that it would knock eight miles off the
journey and would be much less snow-covered. Grudgingly, Lachlan agreed,
as his passenger was obviously much more familiar with the area than he was.
A few hundred feet later, following Sandy's directions, they turned off onto a
"much less-traveled side road" that Lachlan didn't recall ever seeing before.
They
drove for a long period of time, creeping through deeper and deeper snow in
total contradiction to the better conditions promised by Sandy. Lachlan
remembers being told that he would need to speed up as much as possible, just
after passing a sharp bend in the road, in order to make it to the top of a hill
just ahead. He did as directed, with a greater and greater sense of
unease. As far as he could tell, they weren't even going close to the
right direction anymore.
Then,
everything became a blur. Rather than a hill, they had reached the edge of
a great drop-off and the headlights revealed what looked like the edge of a
sheer abyss right in their path. Unable to stop, they plunged over the
edge and fell through open air for what seemed like a great distance, before
smashing into the rocks below. PC Blue had made its final run.
Incredibly, Lachlan's injuries were minor, but his recollection of what happened
next is dim. He vaguely recalls his passenger crawling out through the
broken side window of the cab, then a long period of darkness, cold and
disorientation, later followed by very vague images of Sandy, completely
uninjured, trudging through the ongoing blizzard and up the side of what turned
out to be a large pit, carrying an armful of money bags. Then, nothing.
Lachlan's next memory is of stumbling into Park City, hungry and hypothermic,
then being taken inside and eventually to the hospital.
In the
following days, Lachlan made a full recovery, relating the events as he
remembered them over and over to police, FBI, Wells Fargo and many curious
reporters and friends. The headline of the Park City Gazette screamed
"Wreck of the PC Blue". The very next day, a party of law officers and
Wells Fargo representatives set out in search of the wreck. They had
little to go on beyond the turn from the main road onto the "Hellgate Cutoff",
which no one had ever heard of. Many days of intensive searching followed,
and Lachlan was able to join the search, even attempting to retrace the exact
route of that fateful night. However, the cutoff, which he remembered
immediately following a sharp bend in the road, simply did not exist. The
very few side roads all ended at private family farms and were very short in
length.
Months
followed without a trace of PC Blue or of the mysterious passenger who
disappeared after the crash. On the morning of June 2, 1962, Lachlan
Arnold also disappeared, despite being under a fair amount of suspicion from the
investigating lawmen and under strong suggestion not to leave town.
Lachlan was neither seen nor heard from again, despite an intensive search
throughout the region and even his Sydney homeland.
Then, on
September 5, 1962, a party of hikers discovered the wreck of PC Blue. The
truck was hanging halfway down the side of a deep pit four miles due west of
Park City. The discovery also led to the first of many mysteries which
remain unanswered to this day. The wreck was thoroughly searched with
little to show for the effort. Many hours have since been spent by
officials and curious treasure seekers in trying to determine just what happened
and where all the missing cargo could have gone to. In summary, the
following questions still remain unanswered:
1 - The
pit where the wreck was discovered is in an area that, even today, is quite
remote and seldom visited. In 1962, there were no roads whatsoever
anywhere near the pit. The roads visible today in Google Earth were not
constructed until much later, as was the natural gas pipeline south of the site.
Furthermore, the terrain in all directions is extremely rugged. It would
have been all but impossible to drive a cargo truck from the nearest road to the
site of the wreck, let alone in a driving blizzard. How did PC Blue get
there?
2 -
Where did the huge pit come from? Geologists have determined that it is
definitely man made, yet there are no records anywhere that document its
existence. There is no history of any mining at all in that area.
The pit has been examined by mining engineers who state that it was
professionally constructed and would have taken enormous effort. Yet,
there is no sign of any of the tailings that were removed from the pit and no
indication who was responsible for its creation.
3 - Did
or does the "Hellgate Cutoff" actually exist? Even old-timers of the area
had never heard of it, nor of any road ever having been constructed proximate to
the pit. Lachlan's account clearly documents a minor, but well-maintained
road leading directly to the edge of the pit, yet even the maps of the time show
no roads there whatsoever.
4 - At
the time of the wreck, PC Blue was carrying 13,000 pounds of silver ore, which,
once refined, would have been worth a substantial amount. And yet, when
the truck was discovered, not one ounce of ore was in the bed or anywhere near
the crash site. What happened to all that ore?
5 -
Similarly, what happened to the $650,000 in bagged cash that Lachlan was
carrying for Wells Fargo? His accounts state that he witnessed Sandy
carrying an armful of bags away from the crash, yet there was far too much to
carry in one trip. He would have had to make multiple trips down into the
pit to remove all the cash. And what became of it? No hint of its
existence has ever been found.
6 - The
same for the mysterious passenger, "Sandy". No one questioned had ever
seen a person matching that description in the area, and no trace of him was
ever found. Did he even really exist? Was it part of a story
concocted by Lachlan? And where did Lachlan himself go? His
disappearance from Park City was totally unexpected. Was he involved with
the theft of the cash, and perhaps the silver ore? If so, why would he
return to Park City and remain there, helping with the investigation, for
months? Again, his disappearance was without a trace and no one has any
idea what became of him.
7 - How
did Lachlan get back to Park City in subzero temperatures and a monster
snowstorm with no provisions at all? What happened during the eight or so
hours between the crash and his reappearance on foot and barely alive, back in
Park City?
8 - A
few years after these events, in 1977, another hiker came across the site of the
wreck and discovered the (apparently recent) wreck of a second vehicle, much
smaller, near PC Blue. Although rusted beyond recognition now, at the
time, this second vehicle was identified as a Ford Granada, but a European
version and one never sold in the U.S. It was registered, amazingly, to an
owner in Sydney, Australia, and reported stolen several months earlier.
The owner was never located. Its rusting hulk remains in the pit to this
day.
None of
the above accounts that I read about in the Park City Library provide the GPS
coordinates of the crash site. Thus, it took me a fair amount of searching
to locate it. By pursuing this geocache, you, too, can visit this quite
striking scene and ponder the incredible events, be they real or fabricated,
that were associated with this wreck. Check the hint and finding the cache
should be easy. Look for the original blue paint still intact on parts of
the wreck as well as the nearby remains of the smaller Granada.
Local documentation link: A
Park City Mystery: The Wreck of PC Blue
If you
are so inclined, please provide your own theories of what happened in your
online log. Enjoy the hike and be safe!