::: Vulture Mine Overnight Investigation Report :::

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Vulture Gold Mines ~ Wickenburg Arizona
December 9, 2006
Time 22:15

Investigation Conditions ~
Current Moon – Waning Gibbous 75% full
Solar X-rays Active
Geomagnetic Field Quiet
Temperature: High 71 degrees Low 41 degrees
Mostly Clear
Pollen 1.7 – Low
Humidity 31%
Wind Speed SE 5mph Gusts 13mph
Barometer 30.03in (N/AMB)
Dew point 34 degrees F (1”C)
Heat Index 77 degrees F (25”C)

ICPIR Investigators Present ~ Christy N, Dee R, Felicia W, Mike R, Nate R, Janice C, Barb G

SPI Guest Investigators Present ~ Danielle W, David W, David D

Equipment ~ (ICPIR Team only)
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P93. Its 5.1 Mega Pixels
Canon EOS Rebel T2 35mm
Olympus FE-170 6.0 mega pixels
Kodak Easyshare 7.1 & 4.0 mega pixels
DVR Olympus VN960PC
Sony Handicam DCRDVD 403 with Nightshot
Gaussmaster
Canon ZR90 Camcorder with Nightshot
Motion Detectors
Digital EMF Field Tester 822A
InfraScan Thermal Probe
DVR Sony ICD - p320
DVR Olympus W-10 with Sony ECM-DS70P external mic
AIPTEK IS-DV2 DV Camcorder
Kodak Easyshare 5.0 mega pixels
Canon EOS Rebel T2 35mm
Engineer Multidirectional Compass

History ~ History of the Vulture Mine in Arizona

The Vulture Mine is located just outside of Wickenburg, Arizona. Gold was discovered there in 1863 by Henry Wickenburg; however despite his discovery, Wickenburg died destitute, he took his own life with a gun. It is called the Vulture Mine due to a legend that a vulture that was shot landed near a gold nugget on the site of the original claim and present day mine. The Vulture was the largest producing gold mine in Arizona. The Mine thrived through the 1890's and was still operational in the 1920's. Vulture City reached a population of five thousand during it’s heyday but the mine was shut down in 1942. There several buildings still standing including the old school house, new school house, mill, and Assayers office as well as the hanging tree behind the office.

Please see the Vulture Mine Photo Gallery for pictures of the location.

“Henry Wickenburg reached in Arizona in 1862. He was believed to be an Austrian or German immigrant, and had probably been a farmer. Some tales of Wickenburg’s origins say that his real name was Heinrich Heitzel; some say he was running from the law in Europe. Whatever the reason, Wickenburg ended up in California during the gold rush. It was there that he learned how to prospect and pan for gold. He was likely part of Pauline Weaver’s exploration party which traveled along the Hassayampa River. One version says this was when he spotted the quartz outcropping which later became the Vulture Mine.

Wickenburg initially worked the mine by himself, but began to sell the gold ore to other prospectors. By 1866 Henry Wickenburg had had enough of gold mining. He sold eighty percent of the mine to a man named Benjamin Phelps, who represented some eastern investors. The Vulture Mining Company was born.

The Vulture Mining Company announced plans to introduce modern mining methods, and to build a twenty-stamp mill on the Hassayampa River. The stamp mill site was to be twelve miles to the northeast, about one mile north of an existing settlement on the river. This settlement had already attracted merchants eager to provide the Vulture with goods and services. Henry Wickenburg retired from mining and established a farm near this settlement. The settlement became known as Wickenburg.

Henry Wickenburg, for his 80% interest, received $20,000 in cash, and a note for $65,000. The new owners soon claimed that Wickenburg didn’t have a clear title to the property, and refused to pay the remainder of the price. Wickenburg spent most of his $20,000 trying to collect on his note, but never succeeded.

The Vulture Gold Mine was discovered in 1863 by Henry Wickenburg. Henry sold the mine after a few years. The Vulture, however, went on to become the most productive gold mine in the history of Arizona. Vulture City grew to a population of almost five thousand people. The mine sparked the development of Arizona and the city of Phoenix.

The Vulture Mine produced gold worth more than 200 million dollars. The exact amount is unknown. Some say that nearly half of the Vulture’s gold was stolen. "Highgrading" or theft of the high grade ore was common at the Vulture. At least 18 men were hung on the Vulture City’s hanging tree, nearly all for highgrading.

When President Franklin Roosevelt closed the mine in 1942 (WW II) people left believing they would return in six months. The mine never reopened. Almost overnight a once thriving community became a ghost town.”

Some people have seen ghosts at the Vulture Mine, even smelled cake baking in the old mess hall. If there are ghosts, the Vulture Mine would be a likely spot for them. Here is a spot where three thousand people once lived, worked, loved, hoped, and died.



One resident of several years was Russ Hunting. Russ cleaned up many of the buildings at the Vulture Mine. The companies who leased the property for exploration filled many of the buildings with plastic sacks of sample drillings. Over time, the sacks deteriorated and left dirt inside the buildings, sometimes several feet deep. Russ cleaned out the buildings, one by one.

While Russ was working in the mess hall, silence descended on him. He couldn’t hear the usual desert noises, and he began to hear voices. The voices cheered him on, told him he was doing a good job. They repeatedly called him "Ben." Gradually, his hearing returned. After this, Russ Hunting would occasionally give tours, in costume, as his alter ego, Ben Russell. Russ died in 1996. His friends, John and Marge, fulfilled his request that his ashes be scattered at the mine "so that I can be with my friends."

The Vulture Mine site

Investigation Notes ~

The night began with Christy N interviewing Chris and Jackie A., the current caretakers of the Vulture Mines. Marge O, another caretaker of the Vulture Mine had previously been interviewed by Dee R on our preliminary investigation.

During the preliminary investigation, initial readings were obtained with the electro magnetic field meter and a constant reading of .0 gauss was logged throughout the entire complex and in each building. There is no electricity that runs at the mines, so this was expected. During our initial sweep of several of the buildings at the mines during our overnight investigation, team members still logged a reading of .0 gauss. Temperature readings were obtained during the preliminary investigation as well as during the overnight investigation and remained consistent with the ambient outdoor temperature.

A team of investigators went up during the initial sweep of the Blacksmith Shop, the Ball Mill and the Power House and were followed by a fox which made things interesting. During the preliminary investigation Christy N had an interesting experience when a male voice said that, “this is no place for a lady”, when standing in the Power House. Unfortunately this was not recorded on audio. Team members brought cans of chewing tobacco and placed them in different places in the buildings listed above for baiting experiments. No movement was noted with the tobacco cans. Audio was also attempted and no unexplained data was obtained.

Video cameras were set up in the Assay office, the Mess Hall, and in the School House. We did not capture anything unexplainable on our video. Audio that was recorded on the video cameras correlated with what was obtained on our digital voice recorders.

While in the school house, several investigators saw what appeared to be small lights that would appear and then disappear. Some investigators reported the lights to be orange or red in color and others reported these lights to be white. A possible explanation for the red light would be the red-eye reduction light that comes on in certain cameras when attempting to take pictures. This explanation does not however account for the white lights that were seen. Every attempt was made to find an explanation for these mysterious lights and we were unable to locate the cause for them.

During our time in the School House a large shadow was seen rising up a wall that completely covered up the moon light that was coming in from the hole in the roof. This was reported by two investigators. A tapping noise was heard on the wall behind one of our investigators by several people. An attempt was made to find the cause for this noise and it was unsuccessful. About an hour later one of our investigators was leaning up against the wall in the same spot in which the tapping sound was heard and she was pushed with a certain amount of force. This phenomenon was unexplainable as the investigator was leaning up against the wall and no one was behind her. Several investigators also reported smelling an odor of rotting meat at different times throughout the School House. Attempts were made to find a cause for the odor and were unsuccessful.

The investigation then proceeded to the Assay Office. During our time there, investigators reported smelling a strong odor of vanilla and kerosene. Attempts were made to find a cause for these odors and a cause was not found. As we were sitting quietly in the building we heard a car door shut. No one was near any of the cars and all investigators were accounted for. During our attempts to check the car to make sure no one was breaking into it, we captured an EVP of someone walking loudly in the building while investigators were outdoors.

Asayers Office

All investigators were accounted for and this audio anomaly is unexplained. It is an impossibility that one of our car doors opened and shut because all the cars were checked and found to be locked. The noise of the car door shutting was captured on 3 digital voice recorders and on our digital video recorder. We also obtained two more EVPs in this building that are unexplained.

That's Just It

This EVP was obtained when investigators were sitting in the Assay Office. We were talking about our EMF meter and you will hear someone whisper into the recorder and say, “That’s just it”. This is not any of the people that were in the building as all were accounted for and abiding by ICPIR rules and protocols. We are not allowed to whisper and if we speak quietly we make mention of it as you hear on the recording. This EVP was captured on two digital voice recorders.

Asayers Office OK

This EVP was captured in the Assay Office. You will hear an investigator state that some exhaled loudly as per ICPIR rules and protocols. Immediately after you hear a response of, “OK”. This is none of our investigators and unexplainable.

Mess Hall

The final building to be investigated was the Mess Hall. During our time in the building we heard what sounded like boots pacing on hard wood. This phenomenon was heard by several investigators and captured on three digital voice recorders. All investigators were accounted for and all attempts made to find a cause for the sound were unsuccessful. After talking to Chris A. the caretaker of the Vulture Mines, he reported that it is a sound that is often heard and has been reported by several people.

The investigation concluded with no further incident.

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