Hensley Sunstone
The Hensley Sunstone is a red-gold, teardrop-cut, fifty-eight carat Oregon sunstone notable for its uncommon size and dazzling aventurescence.
History
In 1903, the uncut gemstone was purchased by Dalton Hensley from Otto Zedler. Hensley had the stone made into a pendant as a gift to his wife, Alice Hensley. It subsequently went missing and was presumed stolen during a burglary of the Hensley home in December 1907.
Over the years, treasure hunters unsuccessfully searched Kimble's Hole Mine, where many believed the gem had been taken after the burglary in 1907. In August 2017, the Hensley Sunstone was found by Melisende Dulac and Darby Wormwood. Alice Hensley had placed it in the grave of Minnie Waldo, a woman Dalton Hensley had pressured into sex and who was subsequently murdered along with her husband and son. In 1917, the grave was robbed by Otto Zedler, who guessed the gem had been buried with Minnie. Zedler subsequently died without revealing that he had hidden the gem on his own mining claim.