For almost 88 years, tens of thousands of dollars, left over from one of the biggest train robberies in history, has laid buried somewhere North West of downtown San Antonio, Texas.
The last person to have a reasonable clue of where it lays hidden under a large rock, died 24 years ago today.
Jess Newton buried it there.
See Clues In Slideshow
By 1924, Jess and three brothers Willis, Dock, and Joe, along with explosives and safecracker expert Brent Glassrock, made up a gang known as the “Newton Boys,” had grown sophisticated in their craft.
After 80 bank and five train robberies, the oldest brother and leader, Willis masterminded their sixth train robbery in cahoots with William J. Fahy a corrupt postal inspector in Chicago.
The targeted loot was Federal Reserve money destined for delivery across the Midwest to banks along the tracks carrying a postal train.
Dock was shot five times, mistaken for an armed postal agent by Glassrock. Soon, brothers Dock, Joe and Willis were arrested and much of the $3 million take was recovered.
Glassrock and Jess escaped with at least $135,000 worth of loot.
“Later, Jess told us Brent (Glassrock) took most of it,” said Joe Newton during a 1976 interview in Uvalde with future Examirner Jack Dennis. “It was bonds, diamonds, and money, most of it, but Jess had a lot of it (some reports indicate near $35,000) with him that he brought back here (to Texas).”
“Hell, he was drunk when he buried it, so we never did know exactly where it is,” laughed Joe Newton.
“They arrested Jess later at a rodeo in Del Rio,” recalled Joe.
All the Newton’s were given fairly light sentences for committing the largest bank robbery in history at the time. Jess died in March 1960 after living most of his life as a cowboy in Uvalde.
Dock died in 1974, and Willis in 1979, at ages 83 and 90 respectively.
In October, 1988, not long before Joe’s death in February 3, 1989, Joe appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Hollywood released a movie, The Newton Boys, starring Matthew McConaughey in 1998.
Clues to the where the money is buried:
On top of a hill, Jess dug a hole, and place a large rock over it.
Jess testified in court it was buried off of Fredericksburg Road, but Joe, in 1976 said, “Nah. He buried it on the road to Bandera.”
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