Although Ruth's note concerning his broken leg and need for help led searchers to believe that he must have starved to death waiting for rescue, as AZ Central reports, new theories popped up after the discovery of his skull with a hole in it that according to the coroner's reports was created by an "Army-style 44 caliber revolver." The most common suggestion, of course, was that Ruth was killed for his maps by someone else familiar with the legend of the Dutchman's mine, though officials suggested suicide was more likely. But in Thunder God's Gold, Barry Storm alleges that on his own search for the mine, he had barely escaped the fire of a sniper he called "Mr. X" who he believed was protecting the mine. He suggests that Adolph Ruth may have also gotten too close and fallen prey to this mysterious sniper (who apparently uses a revolver instead of, say, a rifle).

Wait, it gets weirder. A month after the discovery of Ruth's skull, the rest of his remains were found almost a mile away, confirmed by the presence of the steel plate in his leg from his previous treasure hunt heck-up. Among the relics of his body was a checkbook, in which he had been writing daily notes of his adventures. In this book was a description that modern Dutch hunters believe proves he found the mine, which was punctuated with Julius Caesar's classic dunk on King Pharnaces II: "Veni, vidi, vici." I came, I saw, I conquered.

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