BUT SO FAR... NO ONE
SEEMS TO KNOW ANYTHING
ABOUT THEM.
AS NEWS 13 )S CHRIS MCKEE
SHOWS YOU ON SPECIAL
ASSIGNMENT -- ONE MAN IS
TRYING TO (SOLVE THE
MYSTERY.
00:06:37 Louis Serna
"Who made this?"
00:06:39 Louis Serna
"How did it wind up in
Northern New Mexico?"
06:42
00:06:45 Louis Serna
"What does it mean?"
FOR LOUIS SERNA...
00:14:05 Louis Serna
"Mmhmmm"
IT )S ONE OF NEW MEXICO )S
GREAT UNSOLVED MYSTERIES
Louis Serna 00:07:15 "It
had some meaning to
somebody..." 07:17 Louis
Serna 00:07:17 "and the
big question is who?"
STONE PILLARS...
FOUND IN THE VALLE VIDAL
NORTH OF EAGLE NEST ...
COVERED WITH CARVED
SYMBOLS...
Louis Serna 00:08:02 "It
certainly is a mystery
that has a lot to it"
08:07 A MYSTERY ... THAT
MIGHT HOLD CLUES TO THE
AREA )S HISTORY.
Louis Serna 00:00:04
"It )s... what I )m
calling the St. James
Monument." 00:08
AN UNOFFICIAL NAME LOUIS
HAS GIVEN THIS STONE
PILLAR...
AFTER THE HISTORIC SAINT
JAMES HOTEL IN
CIMARRON... WHERE HIS
QUEST FOR ANSWERS
BEGINS.
Louis Serna 00:18:05 "It
was July the 7th of
2013" 18:07 A SPRINGER
AND CIMARRON NATIVE...
WITH A HOBBY WRITING
ABOUT HISTORY.
LOUIS WAS VISITING
HOME... STAYING AT THE
ST. JAMES HOTEL..
Louis Serena 00:18:09 "I
was walking around the
lobby there, kind of
looking for anything of
interest" 18:12
TUCKED IN A CORNER.. HE
FOUND IT.
A THREE AND A HALF FOOT
TALL...
FOUR-SIDED STONE PILLAR.
Louis Serna 18:27 "I
looked at it" 18:28
certainly did not have
anything to do with
New Mexico" 18:39
THOSE SYMBOLS?
TEMPLAR CROSSES... ON
ALL FOUR SIDES.
Louis Serna 34:14 "I
think that it came from
elsewhere" NEW MEXICO )S
FIRST KNOWN SETTLERS
WERE EUROPEAN.. BUT
LOUIS THINKS SOMEONE
ELSE MADE THE PILLAR..
Louis Serna 04:12 "Since
the theme is the templar
cross, then I think
we )re talking about
Jerusalem, the Middle
East, the Temple" 04:18
HE LEARNED MORE ABOUT
THE STONE FROM THE
HOTEL )S OLD OWNER...
Louis Serna "Ed
Sitzberger" 20:56
ED.. TOLD HIM... A
RANCHER BROUGHT THE
STONE TO THE HOTEL FROM
FOREST IN 1987.
Louis Serna "It )s been
there ever since" 22:09
BUT LOUIS HAS HAD A HARD
TIME FINDING OUT WHO PUT
UP THE STONE PILLAR --
AND WHY.
Louis Serna 09:22 "I )ve
been doing this now for
four years"
HE SAYS U-N-M
ARCHEOLOGISTS...
STATE AND FEDERAL
HISTORIANS..
AND LOCAL RELIGIOUS
ORGANIZATIONS AREN )T
INTERESTED.
Louis Serna 09:18 "I
don )t know why there )s
this reluctance to get
into this" 09:21 SOME
WORRY IT )S A HOAX...
THEN THE MYSTERY
DEEPENDED.
Louis Serna 29:38 "Well
I was ... a... amazed,
OK? To say the least, I
was amazed" 29:42
LAST YEAR...
A FOREST SERVICE RANGER
SENT LOUIS THESE PHOTOS.
A SIMILAR-SIZED
PILLAR...WITH SIMILAR
MARKINGS... FOUND IN THE
SAME AREA OF THE CARSON
NATIONAL FOREST.
Louis Serna 31:46 "It )s
still standing there!"
WHILE THE STONE IS
SURROUNDED BY GRAVE
32:05 "Oh no, it )s
absolutely it )s not."
32:09
:
HE BELIEVES THAT BECAUSE
ITS THE ONLY ONE OF ITS
KIND IN WHAT THEY CALL A
one thing, you know,
obviously there )s no
name on it and no birth
date, no death date, no
nothing like that" 32:16
HE THINKS SETTLERS AND
FUR TRAPPERS MAY HAVE
THOUGHT IT WAS SACRED
GROUND... AND BURIED
PEOPLE NEAR THE STONE.
Louis Serna 32:17
"Everything about it
just screams that it )s
from the middle east!"
32:21 LOUIS THINKS THE
STONE )S SYMBOLS ARE
RELIGIOUS.... STARTING
WITH THE PEAKS ON EACH
SIDE.
Louis Serna 04:20 "If
you see pictures of the
temple, I )m talking
about Soloman )s Temple,
you see these parapets
at the top of it" 04:26
HE SHOWED THE PHOTOS TO
AN ALBUQUERQUE RABBI.
Louis Serna 05:34 "We
went over this"
HE SAYS THIS CUP...
MIGHT BE A MENORAH.
Louis Serna 06:03 "The
earliest menorah, had
only two candle holders
on it" 06:07 AND THIS
CIRCLE.. COULD BE AN
EGYPTIAN SUN SYMBOL...
Louis Serna 06:23 "Or,
the all seeing eye"
THERE )S ALSO AN EIGHT
POINT STAR... SEEN ON
THE PILLAR STILL
STANDING.
Louis Serna 39:56 "The
eight point star is an
ancient symbol" 39:58
their eight point star
as their badge" 40:08
SO WHAT DOES IT ALL
MEAN?
Louis Serna 35:39 "I
think it )s a message,
it )s a message for
somebody that was to
follow" 35:44 HE ISN )T
SURE THOUGH.. AND HOPES
OTHER HISTORIANS CAN
HELP HIM SOLVE THE
MYSTERY.
Louis Serna 37:39 "I
would love to be able to
solve this before I )m
done" 37:43 ON SPECIAL
ASSIGNMENT.. CHRIS
MCKEE.. KRQE NEWS 13.
OPEN THE KRQE NEWS APP
TO SEE AN EXTENDED
INTERVIEW WITH LOUIS..
PLUS .. GET A CLOSER
LOOK AT ALL OF THE
PILLARS AND SYMBOLS
DRIVING THIS MYSTERY.
ADLIB TOSS TO WEATHER