Millionaire art dealer Forrest Fenn is relishing the real-life treasure hunt he’s created.
The 85-year-old Fenn, who besides having a name sounding straight out of an Indiana Jones movie, decided to bury a bronze chest full of gold and exotic jewels in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn. He conceived the idea as a way of offering financial hope for people, while in the process getting them to discover the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains.
Everyone from archeologists, to retirees, to hippy adventurers who probably haven’t shaved in months heeded his call.
“You go out, you look, you don’t find it, you come back home, you go through your clues again, your solves again and you think, ‘Where did I go wrong?'” Albuquerque native and retired tech worker, Cynthia Meachum told NPR.
Meachum says she’s searched for the treasure at least 60 times (because sudoku puzzles aren’t challenging enough?).
“And you go out and you do it again,” she said. “And I have actually seen some of the most spectacular scenery because of this that I ever would’ve seen.”
However, Fenn isn’t making it easy. He’s only offered up a handful of clues, including the treasure being buried above 5,000 feet elevation somewhere between Santa Fe, New Mexico and the Rocky Mountain Canadian border, and a series of further hints within a poem in his self-published book The Thrill of the Chase.
“No one knows where the treasure chest is but me,” Fenn said. “If I die tomorrow, the knowledge of that location goes in the coffin with me.”
Oh, Forrest Fenn, you are one sick, twisted man. How dare you not offer your largesse to a charitable organization such as The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and/or a long lineage of trust fund babies.
© Matthew Benoit | Dreamstime.com – Treasure Chest
