I have heard almost the same story ..
It was in North Georgia not N.C...
There was a movie a long time ago called "TIME COP"
That answered the question of who took it....
A time traveler with a Machine Gun !!!
I have hunted a local Treasure in my county for a while
now myself but to no avail... The McIntosh gold of Keg Creek...
I did find something (will not say what) on an Island off the coast of Georgia.
several years Back. By all Information I can find, It was "LOST" in the early to mid
1600's... There is more, But I can't get back to retrieve it.. I actually found the piece of chain
they had wrapped around a tree to mark the location too.. It was about 14 feet up
and the tree had grown around it completely. Made a nice Ring around the tree.
We also found a small cache in Roswell Georgia. This was supposedly hidden when Sherman
and his men were looting and pillaging the area on their way to Atlanta during the Civil War.
That was one bit of treasure that criminal didn't steal?
Good luck in your search. But don't get obsessed with it.. My brother did and it about drove him over the deep end...