In light of the uproar around the discovery of a treasure chest he hid, Forrest Fenn has provided another clue as to the location of the controversial cache.
The treasure, worth an estimated $2 million, was found in Wyoming, announced Fenn, an 89-year-old Santa Fe author and artifact dealer.
“Because I promised the finder I would not reveal who found it or where, I have remained mostly silent,” Fenn wrote on his blog, dalneitzel.com. “However, the finder understands how important some closure is for many searchers, so today he agreed that we should reveal that the treasure was found in Wyoming.”
“The finder understood how important some closure is for many searchers,” Fenn said, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. Fenn has been extremely tight-lipped over the whole matter which has led some to speculate whether the treasure was actually found.
The infamous treasure chest was allegedly found in June. Since then, Fenn has released photos of the cache but has been extremely tight-lipped regarding the other details of the find, including the identity of the person who found it, which has led some to speculate whether the treasure was actually found.
“The finder wants me to remain silent and I always said the finder gets to make those two calls. Who and where,” Fenn wrote.
In case you’re new to the world of treasure hunting, welcome to the adult version of “The Goonies.” This particular booty is a bronze chest filled with gold and jewels worth more than $1 million was the source of inspiration, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.
It was hidden by Fenn in 2010 in the Rocky Mountains, and for the last decade, more than 350,000 people have scoured the wilderness in search of it. Some of them have gone as far as to give up their jobs and spend their savings in search of the treasure. As many as five people are believed to have died.
In June, however, Fenn claimed that a man (who did not wish to be identified) discovered the chest. To confirm he had found the treasure, Fenn said the man sent him a photo of the chest. He claimed the man who found the cache was able to locate the treasure in the Rockies because of a poem Fenn had written in his 2010 memoir, “The Thrill of the Chase.” The poem apparently held clues as to the treasure’s whereabouts. Fenn wrote the poem to inspire people to go on a good ol’ fashioned adventure, and boy did they take him up on that offer.
For some, Fenn’s release of new details has confirmed the story’s authenticity while, for others, it’s only added to their doubts. Linda Bilyeu, the ex-wife of Randy Bilyeu, a Colorado man who died hunting for the treasure in 2016, is one such outspoken skeptic.
“I believe he never hid the treasure,” she told Westword. “He needed attention and this is how he got it. Fenn needed more attention, which is why he said the treasure has been found with ‘no proof.’”
Since Fenn first announced the buried treasure, the quest has drawn its fair share of controversy.
According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, a Chicago attorney, Barbara Andersen, said she is filing an injunction in federal District Court. She alleges that it was actually she who solved the case but a mysterious hacker stole her answers.
Another treasure hunter, Brian Erskine of Prescott, Ariz., filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court claiming that it was he who solved the mystery. Erskine believed the treasure was located in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, between Silverton and Ouray.
Amanda Push
