Two Wasatch Front men pumped about 6 feet of water out of a portion of Rock Creek in the Treasure Hill area on Daniels Flat and tried to find the underwater cavern that legend says holds a cache of Spanish gold.

Unlike gold seekers of olden times who suffered excruciating, bizarre and often unexplained deaths while searching for the buried treasure, they weren't harmed, but they did get caught. Ute Tribe Fish and Wildlife management staff members Wayne Perank and Steven Ridley just happened to be in the remote area conducting a management survey when they spotted the pair, along with an industrial water pump and scuba gear.

They contacted Ute Tribe Fish and Wildlife conservation officer Erik LaRose who arrested 37-year-old Gary R. Cox, and 36-year-old John P. Hilton. Cox is a Wasatch Front resident, while Hilton divides his time between Utah and Florida, according to law enforcement reports.

Both men were charged with criminal trespass and illegal possession of firearms. They both entered guilty pleas before federal magistrate Sam Alba in Salt Lake City. The criminal trespass charge carries a possible fine of $500 and six months in jail, the weapons violation is punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $200 fine. The men are awaiting sentencing.

Cox and Hilton were part of a film crew shooting videotape in the Mountain Home area when they decided to go hunting for gold, said Raymond Wissiup, Ute Tribe Fish and Wildlife acting director. The incident occurred on Aug. 20, just after 4 p.m.

"They had set up a pump and tried to go under a ledge where a cavern and gold stash are suppose to be," he detailed.

Approximately $20,000 in equipment was seized, along with several different makes of loaded guns. The pair offered no resistance.

The men said they had obtained their information on the possibility of hidden gold in the cavern from reading George A. Thompson's book, "Faded Footprints: The Lost Rhoades Mine," and from talking to "some people in Duchesne and decided to go down and take a look."

Wissiup says there's no doubt the men knew they were trespassing on tribal land and had carefully planned their excursion. "They passed signs saying they were leaving forest land and were on Indian land." All but about one foot of water had been pumped out when the men were caught searching for the legendary gold. Wissiup says such illegal gold hunting ventures occur sporadically in the area, but not to this extent.

Wissiup says for all the gold seeking that's gone on in the area, he's never heard of anyone actually finding what they were after, but he added "there are lots of rumors."