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Shocking Backyard Discovery
Buying a property can be quite a daunting task. The future home-owner usually has to deal with inspections, negotiations, and a few unpleasant hidden secrets that the previous owner might have failed to inform you of. John Sims is the perfect example of this – however, instead of finding something unpleasant, he happened to stumble across a hair-raising mystery. This property owner began hearing rumors of something buried in his backyard and couldn’t stop himself from investigating. Little did John know that he was about to make a chilling discovery that would ultimately change his life forever.
Below, click next and check out what chilling discovery John Sims made in his own backyard.
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Finding The Right Property
In the mid-2010’s John Sims, a Fire Chief in Arizona, made the decision to purchase a new home. All he knew was that he wanted a property in his native city of Tucson. Luckily for him, one of his close friends informed him of the perfect home in the right location – what’s more, the friend ensured him that the house had been very well looked after by the previous owners. While this was true, John and his friend did not know that the house and its surrounding land hid a very mysterious secret.
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The Arid Desert
John received the location of where this mystery lay in the disclosed information when he purchased the house. He was informed that there was nothing of significance hidden in the house. However, there could be something buried underneath it. At first, John did not think too much about this. He did live in the middle of a desert, after all, meaning the mystery under his house could literally be anything.
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Something In That Area
Many of John’s neighbors wondered what lay beneath the ground and where exactly it was hidden. This prompted John and his friend’s imagination – even though the previous owners had no motivation to dig, Sims had other ideas. Unable to set his curiosity aside, the new home-owner finally got the chance to dig up the mystery about six months after signing the ownership contracts.
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Dealing With The Scorching Conditions
As we have already mentioned, John was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. If you have ever been to this part of the United States, you would know that it is extremely hot there (especially in the Summer). Unfortunately for Sims, he started digging during this time of year, meaning that he had to deal with scorching temperatures. However, since John worked in the fire department, he was accustomed to these conditions and did not let it interrupt his mission.
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Digging Blind
However, the heat was not the only obstacle that John Sims had to deal with while digging. The bottom line was that John did not know what he was looking for or even if he was looking in the correct place. He came to realize that whatever it was that he found, he would have to find a way to bring it to the surface safely. To make it worse, the fireman began to lose hope after finding nothing but a few shallow holes in his backyard.
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Tackling The Logistics Of The Dig
Even though John had spent so much time in his backyard, he had nothing at all to show for his hard work. With that being said, he did not want to quit on his mission. Sims had a very good feeling about what was hidden on his property and knew that it would somehow change his life once found. After a few more hours of work, the fireman decided to take a look at the old records once again.
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Using His Imagination
John began to let his mind wander. He realized that since Arizona was relatively close to Mexico, the treasure buried in his backyard could very well be Native American or Aztec. What if it was a skeleton of some prehistoric animal? It could even be a time capsule from some ancient civilization. The truth was that John had no idea what lay below his ground – however, he was extremely excited to find out.
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Getting His Hands On The Official Records
According to the records, there was a very special piece of history buried underneath his backyard. At first, John’s heart dropped when he realized that it could very well be a septic tank. However, the blueprints of his property set these concerns to rest, as they showed a very old object that dated back to the 1960s. To be more specific, the object was built in 1961 (during the cold war period) by a company called Whitaker Pools.
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Where Is The Shovel?
As soon as John saw the blueprints of his backyard, he became even more excited than before. He quickly asked his friend if he could borrow his shovel and got to work digging (in the right location this time). Sims knew that the object could very well be a bunker shelter – however, since it had been untouched for the better part of 50 years, he was worried about what he might find down there. Maybe it was covered with sewage or other garbage?
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Asking For Help
Regardless of what he found underground, John was ready to dig it up. While John was fantastic when it came to rescuing people from burning buildings, he had a lack of knowledge for digging up hidden treasures. This was evident, as John could not find any buried bunker shelter. For this reason, Sims quickly realized that he needed help on the job.
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Finding The Right Place To Dig
John spoke to a team of professional metal detectors that specialized in retrieving lost and buried objects. However, like John, this team could not locate the bunker. Sims was all-but ready to give up on his mission until he was finally struck with some luck. The metal detector started beeping. After hours of hard work, the team had finally found the correct spot to start digging.
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3 Feet Under
John was over the moon with the fact that he had not given up on his mission. He was even more excited than ever to find out what was buried below the ground of his backyard. Grabbing the shovel, Sims got to work digging in that one special spot – it was not until a few hours later that the ground fell away to reveal an old metal dome.
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What Is The Metal Object?
Even though John had been hard at work for hours in the scorching hot sun, his spirit never wavered. After finding the metal dome, he was extremely glad to find out that the mysterious object was not simply a septic tank. After more digging, he finally understood that the metal object was a door. However, what was on the other side, and how on earth was he going to open it?
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More Than The Scorching Conditions
Since John was a very experienced fireman, he understood exactly what he should do in that situation. He discovered a way to prop the metal door open and knew it would be risky by jumping right in. However, once the door clicked open, he could not contain his excitement, even if he knew how dangerous it could be. Before entering the mysterious door, John made sure that he was fully prepared for the mission ahead.
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The First Look
To open the door, John performed some detailed-digging and used his intricate fireman skills to break the seal. As he looked into the hole, he could see a spiral staircase leading further underground. He decided that even though he was able to open the door without any assistance, he would not risk getting locked inside the bunker. Because of this, he called up a few friends for help.
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The Necessary Safety Precautions
If the door fell shut while John was inside, he would be trapped inside the bunker without anybody knowing where he was. For this reason, he decided that it would be the smartest idea to call up some friends in case of an emergency. More so, he was worried about being able to breathe safely while underground and finding a secure entry and exit.
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Does The Air Have Harmful Toxins?
John came to realize that there could be harmful toxins trapped in the bunker. Because of this, it was his top priority to test the underground air before jumping in. After completing all of the necessary inspections, it was finally time for the fireman to discover his hidden treasure. Sims could not contain his excitement as he headed into the metal door that he had worked so hard to find.
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Expecting The Worst But Secretly Hoping For The Best
Gathering his group of friends, John warned them about all of the potential dangers that they could face. The door could fall closed, the ground could collapse, the temperatures could be dangerously high, etc. However, while Sims and his crew were prepared for the worst, they were also hoping to find something amazing. On top of this, John was ready to finally discover what he had put in so much effort to find.
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Going Downstairs
Upon entering the metal door, John and his team quickly came to realize that their suspicions had been right all along – the hidden object was, in fact, a fiberglass bomb shelter. John’s excitement grew with every step that he took down the spiral staircase. What on earth was he going to find at the bottom of the shelter?
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Maybe There Will Be A Time Capsule?
However, even though John and his team had come so far, they were unable to reach the bottom of the shelter on their first attempt. They quickly discovered that the metal staircase was far too rusted and damaged to use, forcing them to return to the surface. Sims had worked so hard to find his buried treasure and was not about to give up – instead, he and his crew hit the drawing board to come up with a new plan to refurbish the staircase
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Dealing With The Unforgiving Heat
John began to worry about how the scorching temperatures could affect the shelter and its old features. Even though the bunker seemed to be okay (apart from some dust and rubble), the crew decided to build a Sonotube cardboard structure in order to offer additional support. More so, they set up a tent to work on their plans for the damaged staircase.
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The Stairs
John quickly came to realize that figuring out what was buried in this bomb shelter was the most important part of his day. He was always thinking about it and trying to come up with ways to get to the bottom. Finally, the crew had built a set of stable replacement steps using rebar and concrete. After installing the steps, Sims could finally begin thinking about entering the bunker once again.
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Preparation
After dealing with the heat issue, the team moved on to sorting out other potential hazards. For example, in order to supply the bunker with fresh air, they built and installed a black funnel pipe. They then decided that flashlights were not the most practical source of light for inside the bunker. In order to fix this issue, they installed a power line to provide the shelter with electricity.
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A Cheap Job
John was over the moon with the fact that his hidden treasure was a bomb shelter. He couldn’t wait to get underground and find out exactly what the shelter held. At first, he thought that the bunker was probably a cheap job. However, once he finally went down, he quickly discovered that the shelter was anything but cheap.
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Communicating Via The Internet
Overwhelmed with curiosity and excitement, John reached out to the people of the internet. He asked whether or not anybody had found a hidden bunker in their backyard and, if so, what had been buried at the bottom. Sims quickly came to realize that hidden bomb shelters were fairly common in the 1960s because of the threat of the cold war. Because of this, John decided that he wanted to renovate the underground bunker and honor its historical past.
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A Canvas
The team discovered that most of the concrete within the bunker was perfectly intact. This only left John with the task of completing the stairs and fixing up the entry room. Sims also noticed that the bunker was nearly completely empty. In fact, there was no furniture inside the shelter, leaving the fireman with a blank canvas for decorating.
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The Online Community
For most of 2016, John worked on decorating and renovating the underground bomb shelter. He even decided to keep his internet friends up to date with the bunker, providing them with regular updates and creating a GoFundMe page in order to help pay for the renovations. He gained more and more attention because of his piece of Tucson history.
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What Do They Think?
John was not quite sure what his vision for the bomb shelter was. The community and internet were more than willing to offer him a few of their ideas. However, as far as we know, Sims has still not decided what he is going to do with the bunker. While he has considered turning the shelter into a wine cellar, there is one other idea that seems more appealing to him.
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An Old-fashioned Den
John thought that it would be amazing to use the bunker as a historic man cave. He would hold poker evenings, small get-togethers, and parties in his hidden backyard secret. However, while this idea is still in development, Sims knows for sure that he wants his bunker to be part of some educational exhibit or display.
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Keeping History Relevant
John is one of those people that loves history and all that it teaches. He has claimed that he wants his shelter to act as some sort of museum – a place where people can learn about the 1960s and the cold war. It is incredible to see how a piece of history can motivate someone so much!
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Buying A New Property
John Sims could not wait to start his new life in his new home. It was even more exciting, as he knew about the hidden bomb shelter on his doorstep. There was so much potential when it came to this property, and Sims could not contain his excitement.
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