Lost Gold of World War II One Step Closer to the Treasure

That profile, oh look at that, that’s awesome right there. Look at that. What we’re probably looking at is one of the long walls, correct? Big question is, is it shaft 2 or not? Shaft 2 is almost like the Holy Grail, other than finding the original Money Pit. What may have taken force to find now looks closer than one can imagine.

The research team are finally one step closer to the treasure. In the course of their exploration of the waterfalls, JN and his colleagues uncover a significant discovery. John, who is thrilled by this discovery, has come to the conclusion that the Gorilla face that they had previously found is directing them to these box markers, which suggest a lower plunge pool below.

The group finds additional evidence in support of their hypothesis when they use a magnetometer to locate a big concentration of metal to the right of the waterfall. They come to the conclusion that draining the plunge pool will reveal a possible symbol of a golden flow and will confirm the existence of a tunnel network. The team believes that they are now one step closer to uncovering treasure as a result of this discovery. Yet, they are also aware of the hazards that are still to come.

During the course of their exploration of the waterfalls, John and his colleagues came across a collection of Japanese box markers. These indicators point to the possible existence of five treasure chests, each of which is stuffed with riches. JN, who is ecstatic with their find, thinks that the gorilla face they discovered earlier is pointing to these box markers, which in turn point to a lower plunge pool below. JN has a hunch that there is a tunnel hidden beneath the waterfalls, and that this tunnel could be concealing a considerable amount of treasure.

The group finds additional evidence in support of their hypothesis when they use a magnetometer to locate a big concentration of metal to the right of the waterfall. They decide to empty the plunge pool in order to get a better look, and in the process, they discover what may be a Golden Lily emblem, which confirms the existence of a tunnel system. The group believes that they are now one step closer to locating Yamashita’s gold as a result of this discovery. Nevertheless, they are also aware of the risks that are still to come.

During World War II, Yamashita is said to have stolen gold, diamonds, and historical artifacts from 12 different countries located in East and Southeast Asia. He then supposedly buried these valuables in a number of secret places throughout the Philippines. But Yamashita never got the opportunity to collect his loot because in 1946, the Americans found him guilty of war crimes and sentenced him to death by hanging.

A locksmith named Ro Helio Ras made the discovery in 1971 of one of Yamashita’s hidden hordes. The horde contained nearly a ton of gold in the form of gold bars, as well as a Buddha statue. And as if finding a ton of gold wasn’t enough, Ras later found out that the head of the Buddha statue could be removed and that the interior of the statue concealed handfuls of uncut diamonds.

After hearing the tale, the dictator who governed the Philippines with an iron hand until 1986, Ferdinand Marcos, is said to have ordered Ras to be kidnapped and tortured so that he would tell the whereabouts of his treasure, so that he could steal it. It has been said that Marcos was successful in retrieving the majority of Yamashita’s wealth, but no member of Marcos’s family had ever addressed the charges in public until February 1992.

Emilia Marcos, the widow of Ferdinand Marcos, is quoted as saying in a 1992 Associated Press article that her late husband had uncovered Japanese treasure after World War II, but had not declared its presence to tax authorities because the sum was so large that it would be embarrassing. It appears that the dictator concealed the gold horde in a number of different locations, one of which was within the walls of his own residence.

Zelda, who is 91 years old today, continues to refuse to divulge any information on the possible storage locations of the remaining gold. During the day, Ro Helio Ras toiled away as a lowly locksmith in Bego, which is situated a few hours travel time north of Manila. Treasure hunting was a hobby of his that he pursued in his leisure time in the decades that followed World War II. It was a popular sport that, at one point, came dangerously close to becoming a national obsession in a country where Japanese soldiers were accused of robbing and hiding huge sums of gold and other treasures during their control of the Philippines.

During this period, the Philippines was under Japanese occupation. It is said that General Tomoyuki Yamashita and his soldiers hid tons of gold and other looted riches in underground caverns and tunnels in the northern part of the country with the aim of recovering all of it after the war. This is the basis for a local legend. However, Japan did finally surrender, and after being captured by U.S. forces, Yamashita was tried for war crimes and sentenced to death. He was put to death in 1946, taking the mystery of the location of the gold heist with him to the grave.

Years later, when Ro Helio Ras was still a youngster, he encountered a Japanese man who told him that his father had fought as a soldier under Yamashita and that his father had once drawn him a map indicating the buried riches. The man also informed Ras that his father had once given him the map. Another man he encountered had worked as an interpreter for Yamashita, and he claimed that he had once been led to hidden tunnels in Bego, where he had seen crates of gold and silver, along with a golden statue of Buddha.

This man had worked for Yamashita in 1970. Mr. Ras, who was 27 years old at the time, organized a team of treasure hunters to unearth the gold and began digging day and night in an abandoned mine shaft below the Bego hospital. They were successful in their mission. It took them six months to break into a network of underground tunnels, where they discovered a human skeleton dressed in a Japanese army uniform, along with bayonets, rifles, and other weapons. They found one tunnel that was approximately 1.8m high and 9m long that was entirely stuffed with crates.

When Mr. Ras opened the first box, he discovered 24 individual gold bars. After that, Mr. Ras discovered a Buddha statue that was golden in color and stood around 90m tall in a concrete vault located beneath the floor of the tunnel. According to his calculations, it had to weigh at least one ton. It took 10 people to transport the statue and the gold bars to Mr. Ras’s house. When he discovered that the head of the Buddha could be detached from within, he extracted handfuls of rough diamonds and put them on display.

Mr. Ras began the process of selling the golden Buddha, as well as some of the gold bars, before he could go back into the tunnels and acquire the rest of the hidden treasure. He talked with three possible purchasers. They all agreed that the statue was made of 22-karat gold. After one of them had it appraised, another buyer, Joe Ora, came to an agreement with Mr. Ras to place a deposit on the gold statue equal to 1 million pesos, which would be around $2 million in 2022 currency.

But a crew of eight armed thugs dressed in military clothes showed up a few days later. They were there without having first obtained a valid search warrant. The men broke into the home of the Ras family and stole everything within, including the gold Buddha, the diamonds, the 177 remaining gold bars, the samurai swords, and the coin collection. Even the piggy bank that the Ras children kept their savings in was taken, and members of the family were tortured.

It was found out that Ras had been staying at the home of Josiah Marcos, the mother of Ferdinand Marcos, the tyrant who proclaimed martial law the next year in the Philippines. Marcos was the president of the Philippines at the time. After hearing about the gold from Ora, Marcos himself issued the order to conduct the search and seizure operation at Ras’s residence. Judge Puh Marcos, the president’s uncle and the one who had previously granted Mr. Ras a permit to dig for the wealth, forewarned him that he was now in danger and that he was likely to be killed because of it.

There, Ras’s family, led by Mr. Ras, left the town and went into hiding. Thrilling, right? Have you subscribed? Do so now for interesting findings like this!

However, a few months later, he was apprehended and taken into custody. He was also subjected to cigarette burns, electric shocks, and other forms of torture. While he was being tortured, Mr. Ras was warned that he would never see his family again if he did not sign an affidavit clearing President Marcos of any responsibility in the theft of the Golden Buddha. He was also threatened with death if he did not sign the document.

He was coerced into signing a different affidavit in which he denied ever reporting a theft having occurred in his residence. The locksmith was eventually let free, but when he arrived at the political rally where he was scheduled to speak, hand grenades were tossed onto the stage where he was supposed to be sitting. A number of people were murdered or severely injured in the incident.

Mr. Ras went into hiding for an additional year, but when he tried to return to his house in Bego for the second time, he was apprehended and sentenced to two years in prison for illegal possession of a pistol. The research team finally makes a breakthrough in treasure hunting. Click on the next video now to find out more!