RON FELDMAN, H.E.A.T. Founder

Moved to Apache Junction in 1968 to begin his search for the Lost Dutchman Mine.  He likes to say that he "spent the first 25 years learning where the mine wasn't!"

Ron, who is an author (Zigzag Canyon & Crooked Mountain) and public speaker, operates the Superstition's O.K. Corral Stables with his wife, Jayne, and two sons, Jesse and Josh.  As one of the foremost authorities on the Lost Dutchman Mine, he is the only backcountry outfitter licensed by the Forest Service to take horseback expeditions into the Superstition Wilderness.

Ron has appeared on numerous TV specials, and with partner, Mic McPherson, located the famous Lost Adams Diggings . . . which is now no longer lost. 

JESSE FELDMAN

He plays an integral part in running the family stables and often leads Dutchman Hunter expeditions into the Wilderness.

As of late, when he is not working at the Corral, or welding and building equipment for the mine, he spends most of his time working on Jacob's Trail.

JOSH FELDMAN

Just as important as Jesse, running the family stables, he also leads Dutchman Hunter expeditions into the Wilderness.  He can also be found trekking through the Wilderness with pal "Gator" Schoose (Bob Schoose's son) on their own explorations,  looking for things long lost.

"We always manage to get ourselves into one tricky situation or another, each time we go in!" grins Josh.

MILTON HAMMOND (1934 - 2004)

About 15 years ago, Milton Hammond indirectly introduced himself to several of the founding members of H.E.A.T. He did so by leaving a cryptic message in an area they were investigating for Dutchman and Spanish clues. In response, after a conference between Ron Feldman and Mic McPherson and others, Ron telephoned Mr. Hammond.

And the rest, as they say, is history . . .

Hammond Bio Continued

BRIAN LICKMAN

Info coming

MIC McPHERSON, founding member

An avid prospector and adventurer, Mic has worked with Ron on many treasure expeditions, including discovering, with Ron, the legendary Lost Adams Diggings.  He is an author in the field of gunsmithing, with hundreds of articles to his name, and he co-authored Zigzag Canyon with Feldman. 

Mic's personal site: Levergun.com

Biography Continued

TOM RICHES

Info coming

BOB SCHOOSE

Founder and owner of Goldfield Ghost Town, and co-owners of the Mammoth Mine with Feldman, Bob has been fascinated by the magic and mystery of the Superstitions since he first visited them with a couple of pals back in 1966.

He designed the layout for the shoring structure of the mine shaft, and derives extreme satisfaction from building a mine shaft in much the same manner has his predecessors did over one hundred years ago.

On his first visit to the area back in 1966, he and his pals took a cool swim in what was then the Mammoth Pond, the flooded Mormon Stope shaft of the Mammoth, never thinking that someday he would own the mine.

He has now been searching for (and in some cases, finding) lost mines for over 40 years.  His first find was the Lost Spanish Fort of the San Bernardinos back in the late '60s.   Why does he do it?  Bob answers with a wry grin, "I love the adventure!  And it sure beats the Hell out of chasin' women and drinkin' whiskey!"

ERIC SHERVEY

Eric is the last member of H.E.A.T.  As a private investigator, he was asked to join about five years ago after he did some successful “location” work for Ron.  They had met about two years prior, when Eric had retained Ron’s services to pack him into La Barge Canyon on his own search for the Lost Dutchman.  Jesse packed him in and they found they had a lot in common.

Shervey got the Lost Treasure bug at an early age watching TV shows like the Lone Ranger, and reading Stevenson and Conrad.  He then traveled the world, starting with several tours in Vietnam, then became a peace officer in the Pacific Northwest, and later a PI. 

“I guess I am naturally inquisitive,” he says.  “And looking for lost treasure just seems to be a part of my nature.”

DUANE SHORT

Has worked with Ron on the Lost Adams Diggings and was his main packer for Lost Dutchman expeditions into the Superstition Mountains for the last 30 years.  A very quiet man, to those who don’t know him, he also has a special mine in Colorado he is working on called the Lost Ute Mine.

The "Rogues Gallery"

Additional Crew for the Lost Spanish Mine Excavation

(NOT IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

JAYNE FELDMAN

Not only the "light of Ron's life," but she also holds down the Corral when Ron and Sons are exploring the mountains.  When the Corral has their horseback rides and steak cookouts, or overnight expeditions into the Wilderness, she is always found heading up the camp, and making sure the sometimes more than 40 guests don't go hungry.

"Gator" Schoose

Info coming

JACOB SCHOOSE

Jacob has been exploring with his dad for as long as he can remember.  “When I was a baby, we used to go around in Dad’s Jeep looking for gold and doing stuff like this.  But I like it!  It’s much better than going to the mall and hanging out doing nothing.  My friends think I work all the time, but this isn’t work."

When Jacob isn't working on the mine site he is going to school, and helping out around Goldfield Ghost Town.  "We just got a new engine for the Goldfield train tour and Jacob has made some major contributions on that, getting it ready to start hauling our guests!" proudly says his father, Bob.

JOE LALICH

Info coming

DAVE WENHAM

Info coming

ERIK STEINBACH

Project Chief Archaeologist

JACK PESKIN

Research Geologist

more info to come

BOB WILLIS

Bob has worn out more cameras than most people have left behind in taxicabs. He has consistently won gold, bronze and silver awards for his images through the Society of American Travel Writers prestigious Bill Muster Photo Competition. Immediately after college, he began traveling for the Baltimore Sunpapers, producing and hosting the nation¹s very first TV travel show. On his first journey, he was bitten (or stung) by an unknown insect and has continued to travel in search of a cure ever since. He has carried his cameras to more than 80 countries on every continent, has crossed the Atlantic well more than 300 times and has recently settled down to learn everything this is to know about the West.

Bob Willis Travel

GLEN McPHERSON

Perhaps the most common comment heard at the mine site when Glen is around: "Man that guy can DIG!"

Mic's cousin, Glen joins the crew at regular intervals and is no stranger to hard work.  When he is not digging, he can be found somewhere along the trail, carrying timber to the site.  And always with a smile on his face!

Biography continued

JOE ROSS

MIKE ROSS

ROBERT LEWIS KNECHT, MSU

"Chewie"

From sub-zero conditions 250 miles inside the Arctic Circle, while searching for a sunken (1897) whaling ship, to following two Mormon Bishops and a crusty old treasure hunter through remote jungles in Vera Cruz, Mexico, to the tiny island nation of Sri Lanka to film Sir Arthur C. Clarke (Oscar nominee for 2001: a space odyssey, Nobel Prize nominee for the invention of satellite communications) tell his true life story about the discovery of the Taj Mahal Treasure, Robert has carried his cameras in search of treasure. 

A certified explorer, having been inducted into the Explorers Club in 1994 as a Fellow National, he is an award-winning cameraman and filmmaker.  His footage has appeared on numerous network affiliates, PBS, Discovery Channel, TLC, Sci-Fi Channel, ESPN2, Speedvision and several U.K. networks, including SkyTV.  He specializes in remote location shoots, and is H.E.A.T.'s documentary producer.

Additional Background Info