30 years ago – April 20, 1990
It was hard work; the wind was unbearable and there was no glamour in picking up trash. But 16 volunteer Gilpinites were braced of the task ahead last Saturday and cleaned up trash along a seven mile stretch of Highway 119—six tons of trash, in fact! Sponsored bythe North Clear Creek Association in conjunction with the Colorado Highway Department’s Adopt-A-Highway program, Highway 119 was cleared of everything from cans and bottles to car tires and mufflers all the way from U.S. 6 to Highway 279. The “collectibles” were bagged, then picked up and disposed of by Bob Dornbrock and Perry Pearce, Gilpin County residents who are highway department employees.
The mysterious disappearance of two men nearly nine years ago in Gilpin County may be nearing a solution. Two bodies, believed to be Luther “Luke” Cyburn, 63, and John McDaniel, 53 are thought to be in an inactive mine shaft near Dry Lakes. Recovery efforts began Wednesday, after clothing and hair were spotted beneath a wrecked white pickup truck about 100 feet down the mine. Clyburn and McDaniel disappeared August 14, 1981. They were last seen at the National Mine that afternoon, and were said to be headed to the Chain O’Mines to pick up a cutting torch. They were in Clyburn’s 1971 white Datsun pickup. An extensive search for the two men was launched shortly after the disappearance. Posters with a picture of Clyburn were on display throughout the area for months after the men vanished. The search lost steam as time passed and no solid clues to the men’s whereabouts surfaced. Clyburn and McDaniel were involved in mining activities in the county during a period when the industry was experiencing an upswing. McDaniel was employed by the Chain O’ Mines; Clyburn was working on his own interests in connection with the Chain O’ Mines, although he was not a Chain employee. He was the father of former Central City resident Beth Roman. The truck, along with the other evidence, was discovered in a joint investigation by the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office. An unidentified informant is said to have provided the tip that led officers to the inactive mine. Searchers met at 8:15 Wednesday morning, and were at the scene at 9 a.m. members of the Gilpin County Mine Rescue Team went underground to retrieve the bodies, and a crane from Clear Creek County was brought in to pull the smashed vehicle out of the shaft. As much as a ton of mud, debris, and snow filled the bed of the small ruck. It went into the shaft nose first, and was embedded in a nine-year accumulation of muck, which was frozen solid. It took over an hour for truck operator Michael Payton to tug the pickup free from the ice that held it. As it was being hoisted to the surface, the material that filled its bed was dumped forward, burying additional evidence. Once the truck was on the surface, it was another trip underground for mine rescue workers, who had to use hand shovels to uncover the buried remains. Digging continued well into the night; at 7 p.m. a fourth shift was hard at work moving muck in search of evidence. Crews were expected to be needed for many more hours before the task was complete. Although it was known Monday night that the truck—and possibly the bodies—were in the shaft after a handful of mine rescue volunteers were called out to explore the opening, full-scale retrieval operations were delayed until Wednesday morning in order to make the necessary preparations to remove the frozen-in-place truck. Observing and assisting with the retrieval were the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office, DA’s Office, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. If the bodies are recovered, said Chief Investigator Clint Blackhurst of the DA’s Office, the next step will be to establish positive identification. Due to the length of time that has passed, dental records will probably be used. Once identification has been confirmed, cause of death will be investigated. Although officials declined to say anything about possible suspects or motives, they suspect murder. “Things will probably develop quickly,” Blackhurst said.
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