On Saturday, a retired marketing director named Emil Knodell went to an estate sale in Missouri City, Texas of a man who had died. He quickly decided to buy a chest of three drawers with a marble top that had been discounted.

But when he and a staff person from Premiere Estate Sales Network tried to load the piece of furniture into a vehicle, they heard moving metal jingling inside. They decided to jimmy open the bottom drawer.

"He asked for help loading it," said Jeff Allen, who works for Premiere Estate Sales Network in Sugar Land, Texas. "As soon as we laid it down, it started making all this racket on the inside. Obviously we were very intrigued with what was happening with the dresser. There were rings, diamonds, gold and all kinds of stuff. It was a real adrenaline rush. Both of us were in shock for a second."