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About the same time Ooms' story appeared, Las Vegas city and San Miguel County officials toured the site.

Hilario Rubio, Jr., a former county planner, recalled that he toured the archive with former City Councilor Dana Lucero, former County Manager Edward Lucero, former County Attorney Arthur Bustos and a deputy sheriff.

"There are so many rumors about it," said Rubio, who now works for the regional housing authority. "They built nice houses and a tunnel in the mountain to store records -- exactly what they said they would do."

Bustos recalled that the tunnel was "the size you could put a train in" with several "finger corridors" off the main shaft.

But those now in office say all they know about the San Miguel Ranch is what they read in a newspaper four years ago.

Last September, a group of State Police officers toured the archive at the request of the "Church" of "Spiritual Technology."

[Two pictures are shown. The upper shows a man standing before a house, perhaps one-room made of adobe. A dog and construction materials are near the house. The caption reads:]

Above: Jose Mufiiz, who is building a house some 16 miles from the San Miguel Ranch where Scientologists have built a archive complex, said he has never visited the ranch or met any of its employees.

[A picture shows a road with six hairpin turns ascending a hill. The caption reads:]

Left: In an aerial view of the Scientology retreat near Trementina, an airstrip can be seen on top of the mesa, the retreat is at lower right, and the building housing the tunnel entrance is at left.

[A picture shows a locked iron gate across a two-track dirt road. The caption reads:]

Below: The 16-mile dirt road leading up to the Scientology property is blocked about four miles from the houses by a padlocked, metal-pipe gate.

[The text of the article continues.]

"After what had happened in Waco, these people came to us because they wanted to cool the rumors some of the misconceptions that were going on," recalled Capt. David Velarde, formerly commander of the Las Vegas office of the State Police.

Department of Public Safety Secretary Richard C de Baca, who joined the tour, said that he visited the tunnel, the houses and watched a demonstration of document preservation. He said video cameras are placed at the tunnel's entrance, but that none of the San Miguel Ranch employees carried guns.