4 months ago
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- An Illinois woman's dream of digging up buried gold coins has apparently lost all its glitter.
Patty Henken set out on her treasure hunt after finding a cryptic note in an antique rocking chair she'd bought at an auction. But it turns out she may have been the victim of a prolific prankster who died more than 30 years ago.
With the help of a donated backhoe, Henken recently tore up a vacant lot in Springfield, Ill., where a typewritten note signed by "Chauncey Wolcott" suggested she would find a chest containing more than $250 in gold coins.
The dig turned up nothing but bricks and old bottles. And now, an Iowa woman who heard about the hunt said she knows Wolcott's true identity: John "Jay" Slaven, a notorious practical joker and coin collector who died in 1976.
Henken says she's disappointed but still is hopeful Slaven may have left something to unearth.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
