MYSTERY WIRE — Forrest Fenn, the man who said he hid a treasure chest with real treasure somewhere in the Rocky Mountains 10 years ago, is now revealing where he hid it, sort of.
The mystery of Fenn’s treasure continues to interest people even though he said it was found several weeks ago.
As we first reported on June 7, Forrest Fenn said someone found his treasure chest. Fenn says the person who found the chest wants to keep the location a secret, and therefore, it will not be revealed.
Fenn has always said the person who finds the treasure can decide how much information about the location and their own identity will be made public.
Now, Fenn has given-up one key secret to the location where the treasure was found. On his web site, he wrote “Many of the searchers for my treasure had solves that seemed to neatly fit the clues in my poem. Then when the finder found and retrieved the treasure, other searchers wondered how close they had been to the right spot. Because I promised the finder I would not reveal who found it or where, I have remained mostly silent.“
“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. Until he found the treasure, the treasure had not moved in the 10 years since I left it there on the ground, and walked away. Perhaps today’s announcement will bring some closure to those whose solves were in New Mexico, Colorado, or Montana.“
Speculation is the treasure was near Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park just feet from the Wyoming-Montana border. Some say this matches the hints in the poem Fenn wrote to entice people to search for the treasure.
In the second part, Fenn wrote:“Begin it where warm waters haltAnd take it in the canyon down,Not far, but too far to walk.Put in below the home of Brown.“
As you can see on the map below, just north of Mammoth Hot Springs (warm waters) along a canyon river is what is known as Joe Brown Boat Launch (home of Brown). This is actually in Montana, but in the poem it states below the home of Brown, possibly a reference to south of it which could put it just across the border in Wyoming.
In June, the still unknown person who found the treasure emailed Fenn photos of it, according to Fenn, giving all of us the chance to see what Fenn says was found inside the bronze chest.
Fenn is a millionaire from Santa Fe, New Mexico. He had hid the treasure chest full of gold and jewels 10 years ago, and wrote a poem which he called his ‘treasure map’ that he said would lead treasure seekers right to it.
As I have gone alone in thereAnd with my treasures bold,I can keep my secret where,And hint of riches new and old.Begin it where warm waters haltAnd take it in the canyon down,Not far, but too far to walk.Put in below the home of Brown.From there it’s no place for the meek,The end is ever drawing nigh;There’ll be no paddle up your creek,Just heavy loads and water high.If you’ve been wise and found the blaze,Look quickly down, your quest to cease,But tarry scant with marvel gaze,Just take the chest and go in peace.So why is it that I must goAnd leave my trove for all to seek?The answers I already know,I’ve done it tired, and now I’m weak.So hear me all and listen good,Your effort will be worth the cold.If you are brave and in the woodI give you title to the gold.
Forrest Fenn’s poem
Many have attempted to find the treasure, some have even died in the process of looking for it. A Colorado Springs man also sued Fenn because he suspected Fenn gave him “fraudulent statements” about the treasure’s location.
Although Fenn says he’s a little sad it’s over, he believes the treasure hunt and experiment were both a success.
On June 16, Fenn released three pictures showing the found treasure and wrote, “The treasure chest was found by a man I did not know and had not communicated with since 2018.”
In the pictures you can see quite a few gold coins, loose and stacked. There is at least one bracelet and what appears to be at least one necklace alongside what appear to be large gold nuggets.
Fenn’s past has been called into question by some. In a 2012 Newsweek story, the author wrote “in 2009, the federal government raided Fenn’s house as part of the biggest ever suspected case of grave-robbing—code named Cerberus Action, after the mythical three-headed dog that guards the underworld. The case is ongoing, according to the FBI, which declined to discuss it.“
The Newsweek author goes on to write “He landed a job teaching at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, America’s “archaeological mecca,” the setting for centuries of human occupation and at least 500,000 graves. Today most of those graves are believed to have been plundered, but in Fenn’s day much of the area was still pristine.“
This and other stories like one in the San Francisco Reporter headlined Stealing the Past have led some to believe the treasure and the story behind it are all made up. That no one has found the treasure and that Fenn has done all this as a publicity stunt.
