Update: Forrest Fenn’s treasure was found in June of 2020 in Wyoming. However, this “discovery” is not without its controversy.
Being diagnosed with Cancer is a deviating blow to anyone’s psyche. This is exactly what happened to Forrest Fenn in 1988. He was told he had Kidney Cancer and things did not look good. Being an avid adventurer Fenn decided to take some of his wealth and use it build a legacy for himself. So he took $2,000,000 worth of gold and jewels and hid it somewhere in Mountains. Has this treasure been found?
According to Fenn himself the treasure has not been found. He recently said “it is still right where I left it”. He has also continually released new clues narrowing down the search area for those who seek his fortune. Here is what we know about this real life treasure hunt.
What Was Fenn Thinking?
An important item to understand when looking into any of these claims is knowing why Fenn hid the treasure in the first place.
Forrest had an adventurous life. He served in the United States Air Force and became an avid collector of Native American artifacts. He amassed such a collection that he was given his own gallery which brought him great wealth, which he used to live a luxurious lifestyle with his family. However, in 1988 he was diagnosed with Cancer. Thinking he had only a small time left to live, Fenn wanted to leave a legacy for himself.
He wanted people to adventure outdoors and to look for the treasure with his name on it. He has given anyone who finds this multi-million dollar treasure the right to keep it. At one point he even wanted to die next to the treasure so whoever found it would also find a skeleton.
Remarkably Fenn beat Cancer and is still alive today. In 2010 he self published a memoir titled “The Thrill of The Chase: A Memoir”. In this book he tells stories about his life and then lays out a nine stanza poem which contains 6 clues to his treasure. He has claimed that seekers need to pay attention to the stories as well as the poem when searching for the treasure.
The Poem
According to Fenn, this poem has six clues, and he recently stated that the first clue is “Begin it where warm waters halt”. Below is the entire poem and perhaps your map to millions of dollars!
As I have gone alone in there
And with my treasures bold,
I can keep my secret where,
And hint of riches new and old.
Begin it where warm waters halt
And 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 go
And 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 wood
I give you title to the gold.
The Map
In his 2nd book, Fenn released a map detailing the search area. He as said that the treasure is North of Santa Fe New Mexico and somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.
Fun Gone Wrong
It has been said that over 300,000+ people have used Fenn’s clues looking for riches. Unfortunately there have been at least 4 people who have lost their lives searching the mountains for the chest. Some have asked Fenn to end the hunt for safety reasons, but he has refused. Instead he has asked people to take safety precautions when searching.
As part of his response he released another clue. He told people to remember that he was 80 years old when he hid the chest. Whether this clue was inadvertent or on purpose, it is great insight into where the treasure might be hiding.
Naysayers
With a treasure of this magnitude there are bound to be some who contradict Fenn’s claims. There are some interesting motives behind these claims.
Hoax
There are many who claim that this treasure is not, nor has it ever been real. For some this is a too good to be true type scenario. Some claim he is simply trying to sell his book. An interesting concept as his memoir costs quite a bit of money. At the time of this writing it is listed on amazon for over $61 and his 2nd book is listed at over $92!
These claims should also be taken with a grain of salt as they say. What a great trick it would be to play on people to get them to stop looking for the treasure so you could increase your own opportunity to find it.
Lawsuit
In December of 2019 a Colorado man sued Forrest Fenn over misleading information. David Harold Hanson of Colorado Springs took to the courts to say that Fenn had mislead him. Hanson claims that he was searching in the correct area when Fenn issued a set of new clues that lured him away from his search area. He then states that someone else searched the area he was previously in and found the treasure.
Hanson was seeking damages claiming that Fenn either purposely lured him away so another person could find the fortune or he was negligent in the reporting of his new clues. Either way Hanson was seeking over a million dollars with the note that it could go higher if the treasure was valued at a great dollar figure.
This lawsuit was dropped in March of 2020 on unsubstantiated information. Hanson could have been trying to publicly halt the search activities by others by claiming he already found the treasure. Another interesting theory is that he was trying to get new clues out of Fenn. Perhaps even more diabolical is the suggestion that Hanson was attempting to force Fenn to testify under oath where he had hidden the treasure, thus allowing Hanson to go get it.
It is Gone
Another claim that has surfaced is a man in Albuquerque New Mexico named Rob Kittinger. He claims he has solved the poem but when he went to dig up the treasure it was gone. Kittinger claims someone else beat him to it.
Fenn was contacted to confirm these details, but did not state Kittinger was in the correct spot. Fenn probably thought it was another attempt to get clues from him as his response was that he was not going to narrow the search area down any further.
Kittinger also wrote a book detailing his search and his solution to the poem. Some say this is his motivation behind his claims of finding the spot but not the treasure.
How Would Fenn Know
One interesting question is that if someone did find the treasure and did not want to be identified, how would Fenn know. There are a few theories out there but the one that makes the most sense is that there is some failsafe in the treasure box. Some note or deed or claim that states that the document must be returned to Forrest or his estate before transfer of ownership occurs. Other theories include game cameras, tracking devices, or a very unique item that would catch attention when offered for sale.
Go Get It
It is my conclusion that the treasure is real and is still out in the mountains somewhere. There are many podcasts and websites dedicated to this search and thousands of people are out in nature searching for it. Fenn attempted to create a legacy for himself, a task which has succeeded. Even if the real treasure is gone or non existent, getting out in nature and experiencing the thrill of the hunt is a treasure worth more than gold. Go get it! Have fun and be safe!
Photo credit by N. on Unsplash
“No” Photo by Gemma Evans on Unsplash