Officials responding to reports of a foul odor at the home of a Nevada recluse may have been surprised to find the man's lifeless body -- he'd been dead for about a month -- but it was the contents of Walter Samasko Jr.'s garage that were truly unexpected.
The Carson City resident who had been living alone at the time of his death had gold bars and coins stored in boxes around the property, according to the Las Vegas Sun.
According to the Associated Press, Samasko, 69, died of heart problems, leaving no will. The businessman, who died with $200 dollars in his bank account, but millions in the garage, hadn't worked in more than 40 years.
Totaling at least $7 million altogether, the bars and coins, which bore the hallmarks of mints from around the world, were so numerous they had to be toted out in wheelbarrows, the Sun reports. Carson City Clerk Alan Glover used a the garden implement to unceremoniously transport the stash back to his truck and then to a secure storage area.
Samasko was also apparently strongly "anti-government," according to the Caron City Nevada Appeal. Glover told the paper that while Samasko's neighbors knew little about the man, he was famous for his distrust of vaccines.
Glover also said his office was working to get the money to the rightful heir after the IRS gets its cut, of course, according to AP.
In a similar incident, a group of gardeners working in the Swiss of town of Klingnau stumbled upon their own hidden cache this summer while cutting grass in the border town. The gardeners found a stash of gold bars worth $126,000, and so far, no one has come forward to reclaim the treasure.
Under Swiss law, the workers will be able to claim the gold if no one can claim ownership in the next five years.
UPDATE: A first cousin of Walter Samasko's, Arlene Magdanz, has apparently been located. City officials tracked down Magdanz, a substitute teacher in California, using records from the dead millionaire's mother's funeral.
Photos courtesy of the Nevada Appeal
Related
Before You Go
