Jocko Lakes fire exposes artifacts

And so the guesswork begins. Whose cache was this? What happened on this remote mountain bench well over a century ago that left behind such a complete stash?

"That's the mystery," McLeod said. "It's like this was an event that happened, is the best way I can describe it. All these high-value artifacts were just left. In 1870, you don't lose 18 unfired cartridges. You don't lose your ax, your bullet mold, your scissors, your hide scraper."

If murder were involved, why wouldn't the killer have kept the goods?

McLeod and Minetz found the artifacts in a likely camping stop near the trail, on level ground, with water nearby. But there was no evidence of a camp at the discovery site.

"We speculate that maybe a grizzly bear ran the guy off, killed him and ate him," McLeod said.