The same year the Restall men and their workers fell to their deaths, Robert Dunfield arrived on the island. We guess he wasn’t deterred by the odd deaths and the rumors that ghosts were protecting the treasure because he brought with him an army of cranes, bulldozers, and heavy machinery to dig the pit further.
He tunneled approximately 140 feet down, reaching the thick limestone layer that was previously discovered.
More Death
As if this story wasn't terrible enough, Robert Restall Jr. was there, and he witnessed his father’s fall. He rushed to the pit and tried to rescue him, not knowing he will soon suffer the same fate as his father.
The son inhaled the same toxic fumes that caused his father to plummet down the pit. Once he did, Restall Jr. fell to the same tragic fate.
More Death
Two workers in the area, Karl Graeser and Cyril Hiltz, hurriedly went to the pit and tried to climb down to rescue the Restall men. However, they also inhaled the carbon monoxide and met their deaths down the pit.
This was the island’s biggest disaster: four deaths in one day. The Money Pit, it seems, was working its way up to that number prescribed in the myths: seven deaths before the treasure would be revealed.
More Stranger Clues
Another man by the name of Daniel C. Blankenship also went to the Money Pit to dig in 1965. His efforts paid off when he found a hand-wrought nail, a washer, and a stone-shaped heart 60 feet down. While these odd discoveries didn’t make a whole lot of sense in isolation, they formed part of a puzzle that was slowly coming together.
One that would surely be answered in the future if only enough clues could be found.
The Triton Alliance
In the late 1960s, a group called the Triton Alliance was created to continue the quest for the elusive treasure. The team used heavy machinery in the hope of making significant findings and, most importantly, unearthing the treasure.
Aside from recovering some artifacts, such as a 300-year-old pair of wrought-iron scissors, the team’s extensive search did not reveal much of anything useful. However, the crew of hardened explorers refused to back down from their tough mission.