Arizona has a few places that are notoriously haunted or just plain creepy, but the gruesome past of this little ghost town includes the largest manhunt in the history of the Southwest. Read on to learn about the terrible incidents that have forever darkened this tiny spot on the Arizona map.
Back in the day, Ruby Arizona was a thriving mining town.
Ruby, Arizona At its peak, the mine was the leading zinc and lead producer in the state.
But the close proximity of Ruby to the border made it, and its residents, vulnerable to attack by Mexican bandits.
Flickr/Phillip Capper The above 1990 photo shows Ruby, Arizona. The town’s only general store, where two of the gruesome attacks took place, is positioned at far right in this image.
Ruby: The Tiny Town In Arizona With A Terribly Creepy Past
Flickr/RV1864 Bandits rode in from the South and robbed the town’s only store, killing the couple who owned and ran the mercantile. But that wasn’t the end of the issues Ruby and its residents would have with the bandits.
A short 18 months later, in August 1921, a different set of bandits robbed the same store and its new owners.
Flickr/Steve Snodgrass They shot and killed the unsuspecting couple and then removed five gold teeth from the victims so they could sell them. After this second double homicide,a large posse of residents and lawmen would chase the bandits. They enlisted the help of an Army biplane, and offered a $5,000 reward. But the manhunt ended unsuccessfully.
Some months later, an Arizona deputy sheriff was visiting a nearby town when he overheard a bartender trying to sell five gold teeth.
Flickr/Don…The UpNorth Memories Guy… Harrison He felt sure it was the same teeth stolen in the most recent Ruby homicides. The bartender gave up the name of the outlaw who sold him the teeth.
Nearly a year later, two outlaws, Manuel Martinez and Placidio Silvas (shown in the middle of the back row in the 1922 photo below), were captured and tried for murder.
Wikipedia/Nogales Herald/public domain Martinez was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged; Silvas was sentenced to life in prison. However, while being transported in a police car, two managed to break free after a terrible car crash occurred. The two deputies driving the car were found dead. This time, the largest manhunt in the history of Arizona ensued. More than 700 volunteers searched the desert for Martinez and Silvas.
Eventually, the two were captured, retried, and found guilty once again. Martinez was executed by hanging on August 10, 1923. Silvas was sent to prison for life, but while incarcerated in Florence, he escaped in 1928 and was never seen again.
Flickr/velo_city Part of the old general store where four of the Ruby murders took place is still standing in the ghost town of Ruby, Arizona. The town sits on private property, but is open for self-guided tours on certain days of the week.
See more photos of this tiny Arizona ghost town with an incredibly gruesome past, and learn more about when the property is open for exploration, in this previous article.
Ruby, Arizona
At its peak, the mine was the leading zinc and lead producer in the state.
Flickr/Phillip Capper
The above 1990 photo shows Ruby, Arizona. The town’s only general store, where two of the gruesome attacks took place, is positioned at far right in this image.
Flickr/RV1864
Bandits rode in from the South and robbed the town’s only store, killing the couple who owned and ran the mercantile. But that wasn’t the end of the issues Ruby and its residents would have with the bandits.
Flickr/Steve Snodgrass
They shot and killed the unsuspecting couple and then removed five gold teeth from the victims so they could sell them. After this second double homicide,a large posse of residents and lawmen would chase the bandits. They enlisted the help of an Army biplane, and offered a $5,000 reward. But the manhunt ended unsuccessfully.
Flickr/Don…The UpNorth Memories Guy… Harrison
He felt sure it was the same teeth stolen in the most recent Ruby homicides. The bartender gave up the name of the outlaw who sold him the teeth.
Wikipedia/Nogales Herald/public domain
Martinez was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged; Silvas was sentenced to life in prison. However, while being transported in a police car, two managed to break free after a terrible car crash occurred. The two deputies driving the car were found dead. This time, the largest manhunt in the history of Arizona ensued. More than 700 volunteers searched the desert for Martinez and Silvas.
Flickr/velo_city
Part of the old general store where four of the Ruby murders took place is still standing in the ghost town of Ruby, Arizona. The town sits on private property, but is open for self-guided tours on certain days of the week.
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.
