The legend of Victorio Peak

White Sands Missile Range is more than just a place where the military tests its most sophisticated missiles and weapons. It's even more than the historic Trinity site, which is open to the public once a year. White Sands Missile Range as well as White Sands National Park hold a plethora of mysteries, secrets and history — filled with historical locations practically untouched. To be able to just walk around and hike through the Hembrillo Basin at will would be such a unique experience, one surrounded by the San Andres Mountains, listening to the deafening silence of what was once chaos and war, surrounded by historical artifacts, ruins of shelters and campsites, and perhaps even hidden treasure. Back in 1937, however, this area was completely open to the public. Hunting in this area was unremarkable and common. It was during one of these trips that Milton Ernest 'Doc' Noss stumbled upon what ended up being a multigenerational legend that only a handful of people have claimed to have seen. According to the documentary Gold, Lies, and Videotape, which followed Terry Delonas, the grandson of Ova 'Babe' Noss, Doc climbed up the peak for a better view to look for deer and stumbled upon an opening. Ova Noss described in a 1977 TV interview with Loren Nancarrow: 'He kicked his boot up against a rock and a puff of air came up from a shaft, and it hit him in the face. He knew he had found something that somebody had been in. He could see a pole ladder that went down. He was looking at it, and looking at it, and finally decided to step down and see. The weight of his foot snapped the step of the ladder.' Doc clearly knew that he had found something extraordinary. Before he explored it any further, he covered it up as best as he could and left. He later got his wife Ova and brought her to the main opening to the shaft. She stayed up at the peak while he continued his journey down. This was no easy trek, as the peak was at least 200 feet down from the top entry point. According to Alex Alonso from Gold, Lies, and Videotape, at that time, the peak had caverns and walkways that were quite narrow and not easy to get through, similar to what an ant farm would look like. Doc continued until he got to a mysterious entryway. This is where lines of fact and legends start to blur. 'When he got in, he saw 79 skeletons. He knew there were 79 because he counted the skulls,' said Alonso. Terry Delonas explained the white stripe Doc famously had in his hair after the discovery: 'One of the skeletons was mummified and still had hair, and flesh. It frightened him so badly, his hair turned white, and he had a white streak from that time on.' In the 1977 interview, Ova goes on to describe the scene as Doc described it: 'There was a statue of a man, about four feet tall, and it is standing to guard the treasure. There were boxes of jewelry, coins… swords, everything was old.' What Doc did not know at the time was what Ova described as billions of dollars in gold bars. When she told him what he held in his hand were yellow, solid gold bars, he thought back to how much he saw down below the peak. He said, 'Well, Babe, if that's gold, and all the others are gold like it, we can call John D. Rockefeller a tramp.' Doc claimed to have seen over 16,000 bars of gold alone. Delonas said, 'There is a big piece of history waiting to be discovered in Victorio Peak.' While many theories exist about how the alleged treasure got inside of the peak, Terry gave one that makes the most sense — seemingly a collection from 'The Apache people and their ancestors.' Although nothing has been proven, in fact, nobody has seen what Doc saw that day. In an attempt to create a more convenient opening into the peak, they used dynamite, which ultimately caused all those tunnels and caverns to collapse, sealing the main entrance shut. This devastated Doc and Ova, especially Doc, who grew increasingly paranoid and bitter. This destroyed his marriage to Ova, whom he divorced. He abandoned not only his family, but the peak itself. He ended up being shot in a violent confrontation over gold bars in 1949. Ova, however, never gave up her fight to gain access to the peak. Even after the military took over the Hembrillo Basin and the peak in 1955 — which legally forced Ova off the peak, voided her legal mining claim, and barred the family from further recovery efforts — she kept fighting until her death in 1979 at the age of 84. Her grandson, Terry Delonas, continued the legacy and fought for access to the peak. This eventually led to 1996, when the family was permitted access to the peak for a short amount of time before officials removed their access, citing non-payment issues. This was the last search effort the family was granted. Terry Delonas continues the legacy to this day and fights for access to the peak. Doc and Ova Noss are buried at the Masonic Cemetery. A photo of the peak sits between the two names — like in life, standing between husband and wife, then in death, bringing them back together. Sarah the Cemetery Snoop knows where the bodies are buried. Sarah Campbell is the author of Cemetery Snoop. Follow her on Instagram and TikTok at @sarah_thecemeterysnoop. Comments can be shared at Sarahthecemeterysnoop@gmail.com.