A death and panning for gold

As a New York expatriate, I am constantly surprised by little details that make California - California. One of these came from stories about the death of Alexander Roglinov, 61, who was found shot and killed camping in the Angeles Forest above Azusa.
The L.A. Times had a story about the killing, but, outside the tragic details, the thing that caught my eye was that there were gold prospectors still up there panning for gold. Not exactly a steady gig, but no different then lotto and with better odds.