A day after historic gold was stolen from the Siskiyou county courthouse, the suspects remain on the loose and the citizens of Yreka remain in shock.
Gold is more than a part of Yreka's history, the town would have never even existed without the precious metal. That plays in to why this theft is such a devastating loss of the town and its people.
In early 1851, Yreka did not exist, 6 months later, it was a booming town, already famous for its gold.
“Within 6 weeks this turned from an empty spot in the North West to 2000 people that were all miners digging for gold,” said Claudia East, Vice President of Siskiyou County's Historical Society.
“It resonates today in fact the city motto is The Golden City and they promote that and there is still gold taken out of our area today,” said East.
Gold hasn't been a major industry in Yreka for decades but it's gold collection kept the spirit of the town alive.
“Having this gold collection here in Yreka, the county seat and it was pride for the county, pride for the city it showed our rich gold history,” said East.
It is impossible to come to town and not notice Yreka's golden history. At the front of town is a statue of a miner that reminds people that mining is how the town got started.
“Still our detectives are going over the security footage and looking for any possible lead or information in there also,” said Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Spokeswoman Allison Giannini.
As detectives search for leads, the hope is to find the gold intact, not melted down.
“I am afraid even if that marvelous thing could happen, we may not be able to have our gold on display again and that would be a loss to everyone because it has been a stunning display,” said East.
“They will be moving it to a secure location after it has been inventoried completely and has finished being processed,” said Giannini.
Sheriffs officials say the thieves entered through a open courthouse window and used a heavy object to break the the display case.
Whether this burglary was a planned heist of just a golden opportunity remains a mystery but sheriff’s officials say no one will be ruled out as a suspect.
