In a clearing in the middle of the Pine Barrens, there’s a stone that looks like it came straight from a legendary Aztec temple. But it’s not some misplaced relic that happened to find its way to the forests of South Jersey, it’s a memorial of the legendary “Lindbergh of Mexico,” Captain Emilio Carranza. 

Carranza’s legend begins with a record-breaking career in aviation – all before he turned 23. At age 22, he made the first non-stop flight from Mexico City to Ciudad Juárez (1200 miles), and the next year, he set the record for the third longest non-stop solo flight, 1,575 miles from San Diego to Mexico City. 

But just a month after his record-setting flight, Carranza set off for his final trip, which would start with celebration and ultimately end in tragedy. 

With unrest between Mexico and the U.S., Carranza was tapped to fly a goodwill flight to the states a year after famed American aviator Charles Lindbergh had done his own goodwill flight to Mexico. Carranza and Lindbergh had become good friends after meeting in El Paso, TX in 1927. 

Carranza set off for Washington, DC, in June of 1928, where he met and dined with President Calvin Coolidge. He then flew to New York, NY, meeting the mayor and receiving a key to the city, before departing for his flight home to Mexico. 

But shortly after take-off, while flying over the Pinelands during a severe thunderstorm, Carranza’s plane crashed. His body was found by a local resident the next day. Before his remains were returned to Mexico, where he was mourned and idolized for his ideals and bravery, he was given a state funeral in New York. 

After his death, school children in Mexico saved up coins to fund the building of his monument, which was built in Mexico with stone quarried from his birthplace and shipped to be placed in the Pine Barrens, at the spot where his body was recovered. It depicts a diving Aztec eagle on one side, an inscription on another, an engraved arrow pointing towards the sky on the third and footsteps – representing his final walk – on the final side. 

Every year, the American Legions Post 11 of Mt. Holly hold a ceremony open to the public at the monument to recognize the Mexican hero. It’s hosted on the second Saturday in July.  

But – as with much history – there are theories surrounding Carranza’s death. And one ghostly legend. 

First, there have been stories that if you park your car at the memorial’s gate, flash the headlights on the memorial three times and yell “Emilio,” you will see his plane. And the memorial is thought to be haunted by the ghost of Emilio. 

There has also been speculation around his death, including the story of a supposed telegram urging him to return to Mexico City “or the quality of your manhood will be in doubt,” though that telegram was never found. And a New York Times article published shortly after the crash reported then-Senator Thomas Heflin alluding to foul play.