Theodore A. Morde (May 18, 1911 – June 26, 1954) was an adventurer, explorer, diplomat, spy, journalist, and television news producer best known for his unverified claim of discovering the "Lost City of the Monkey God."

In 2013, Christopher S. Stewart wrote a book about Morde and his hunt for a legendary "lost city" that some have equated with la Ciudad Blanca.

"[4] In addition to searching for the city, Morde's expedition sought to study the indigenous people of the region, further explore known archaeological sites, and chart the upper reaches of the Wampú River.

[6] Morde went on to write a colorful travelogue of his experiences titled "In the Lost City of Ancient America's Monkey God" for The American Weekly.

[9] He described "penetrating far into little known Mosquitia Territory" and warding off "malaria, deadly snakes, vicious insects and jungle beasts" before coming upon the ruins.

[9] "Towering mountains" flanked the "ideal setting" where he discovered a walled city with a monkey god that resembled Hanuman from Hindu culture.

[9] In great detail he describes how hunters kill three monkeys apiece and put them in the fire to "dance" as the heat makes their muscles contract.

[8] Morde also had ties to the OSS, and received a bronze star medal for actions in Ankara, Turkey 1943[11] as a Lieutenant, junior grade.

[citation needed] After World War II, he served as a special adviser to the Egyptian Premier for the U.S. government, and as adviser to the Egyptian Ambassador in Washington, D.C.[3] Later in life, Morde founded Theodore Morde, Inc. to produce news films, and served as the president of Spot News Productions.

[12] Some normally reliable sources written much later report that Morde had been run over by an automobile in London, England, "shortly" after his expedition to Honduras.

He went to Honduras and undertook an expedition with archaeologist Christopher Begley in 2008 where he attempted to retrace Morde's steps using his original field journals.

Their supposed archaeological expedition was actually a cover; the real purpose of the trip was to search for gold along the Río Blanco, nowhere near the reported location of the purported lost city.

[19] The artifacts the two men supposedly brought back from the lost city were acquired near Brewer's Lagoon after their return from the deep jungle.