A Map

In 2010, a man named Forrest Fenn buried a chest with over one million dollars worth of gold and other artifacts somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. The only hint anyone had was a poem he published. Thousands sought the modern day treasure, five people lost their lives, and one now claims he found it. But the story goes much deeper than that.

Shout Outs:

This week we wanted to give a shout out to a few fellow history podcasts.

Forgotten News: Your window to hear true stories from long ago. Stories that once made headlines. Stories that people thought would be unforgettable, but soon were lost in the sands of time.
Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forgotten-news-podcast/id1260175711

Disastrous History: A podcast covering disasters of all kinds throughout history. From tornadoes and earthquakes to mining disasters and arson.
Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disastrous-history-a-disasters-of-history-podcast/id1546741147

Support great storytelling by simply giving these shows a listen!

Transcript:

How far down the rabbit hole are you willing to go? What lengths will you go to in order to reach your goal? What will you sacrifice? These are the questions the obsessed must ask themselves. Though sometimes they’re already in too deep to answer them truthfully. And in 2010, one of the greatest treasure hunts the world has ever known started, and for the lives of thousands of adventurers and treasure seekers, their lives were never the same. 

An 80 year old eccentric millionaire antiquities dealer from New Mexico started it all when he published his memoir titled “The Thrill of the Chase”. In it was a poem that was said to include nine clues that, if followed precisely, would lead you to a treasure chest filled with gold and jewels worth over one million dollars. It was hidden somewhere in the Rocky Mountains and it is said to be the place where Forrest Fenn, the author, would like to lay down and die one day. He came up with the idea after being diagnosed with cancer, and even though he beat it, the idea of the hunt persisted. Forrest wanted something to get people off the couch, off their cell phones, and outside in the wilderness exploring. 

In the years that followed more and more people became obsessed with solving the puzzle and finding the treasure. For some it was a hobby but for others it took over their lives, and for a few others, it ended their lives. After three searches died within a few months time in 2017, some of the public and the authorities called on Forrest to end the hunt, but he refused. Afterall, he was 80 years old when he hid the chest, so if you’re doing something dangerous, something that an 80 year old couldn’t safely do, then you were probably doing something wrong. 

But to many it didn’t matter. As long as the treasure was out there they would do anything in their power to find it. Pages and pages of online forums and message boards discussed various theories and analyzed the clues. People went through every word Forrest Fenn had ever spoken or written, searching for some secret or hint. They searched for hidden messages in pictures and drawings. They looked for hidden meaning in the words, using codes and ciphers. 

Thousands of people toiled for over a decade to solve the mystery. And a few people claim they had. They have dedicated websites and published books explaining how they solved it and why they are correct. But none of them found the treasure chest. Some people say the chest was never actually hidden. Others say Forrest retrieved it or moved it at some point. But for many who had spent years and years searching, they knew it was still out there, just waiting to be found. 

And then, on June 6th, 2020, while the world was in a global pandemic, people quarantined in their homes for months on end, a 32 year year old man found the treasure. 

But not everyone believed it. At first very little information was given about who found the treasure or where. And without these details many would not consider the hunt over. Shortly after the announcement, it was revealed that the treasure was found in Wyoming, but still the identity of its finder remained unknown. That was finally disclosed six months later as the man’s name was likely going to be forced out soon anyway. 

But still some people did not fully believe what they were being told. Something about it didn’t seem right. People speculated that the man, Jack Stuef, didn’t actually find the treasure but was a cover for Forrest retrieving it himself to put an end to the hunt. They pick apart Jack’s story of how he found the treasure, especially since he only started researching and looking in 2018. How could this man, so late to the game, best people who have searched for a decade? 

To this day people still fill the forums with their theories and ideas. They pitch their “solves” to the puzzle, either refusing to believe it’s really over or just wanting to get to the end and see the site for themselves. And that is because Jack has never revealed the location where he found the treasure. Still the only hint is the state of Wyoming. Jack’s reasoning is to preserve such a special place and uphold Forrest’s legacy. The man himself, the one who started it all, passed away just a few short months after his treasure had finally been found. 

But people still can’t let it go. Their obsession has too much of a hold of them to let it go. And I get it. In researching this episode I too fell down the rabbit hole. Instead of looking for the facts and details that would properly tell this story, I ended up scrolling through the message boards and reading the theories of where the treasure is or was. Picking through pages and pages of explanations from the overly complicated  and scientific, to the overly complicated absolutely crazy. I was hooked. I read through the poem over and over again. I listened to interviews with Forrest and read breakdowns of what his answers could secretly mean. 

There was a puzzle, and even though there was no prize at the end, there was still a massive blank space where an answer should be. And what makes the lack of an answer even more frustrating is how simple and obvious Jack makes it seem. Like once you know you can’t believe you never saw it before. He says the key was remembering and understanding why Forrest hid the treasure where he did. It was a special place to him, it was where he wanted his body to lay after his death. In order to solve the clues you had to know the man. You can’t separate the two. 

And perhaps that is what people resent about Jack the most. He achieved a level of intimacy with Forrest Fenn in such a short amount of time when others had toiled so hard for so long. Jack came to understand Forrest in a way that so far no one else has. He understood the man and followed the clues to his final resting place, and for it he was rewarded with the gold. But in the end the experience was about more than just the treasure, it was the journey there. That was the point of it after all. It was about the thrill of the chase. 

For some though, maybe the thrill got the best of them. The hunt claimed the lives of five people total. Many others have been arrested for various charges, usually trespassing or damaging property. Forrest Fenn and his family were harassed and threatened multiple times over the years. People desperate for an extra hint or a clue. There are and have been multiple lawsuits filed against Forrest and now his family since his passing. They claim they knew where the treasure was but it was stolen from them. The finder, Jack Stuef, initially came forward with his name since he too would be wrapped up in these lawsuits eventually. People claiming he stole their solution in order to find the chest. 

In the years that follow I’m sure more information will come to light. And with Forrest gone, Jack is, for now, the only one to know the truth. And even he doesn’t have all the answers. Perhaps some other hunters will put the pieces together and find that sacred ground where Forrest dreamed of as his final resting place, where Jack retrieved his treasure. And if they do I hope they respect it enough to keep the secret to themselves. Let others find it on their own if they wish. But for some, like this hunter, it’s time to move on. Because there will always be another treasure to chase, another “X” on the map to find. Just remember to enjoy the ride along the way.

Today’s episode was written by me, Cory Greiner. Keepsake is produced and edited by Alex Hoelscher. If you have an idea you’d like us to explore on the show, send us an email at keepsakepod@gmail.com. 

If you want to hear more episodes, please make sure you subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review. This is an independently produced podcast and reviews are the best way for us to gain more listeners which will help us produce more episodes. 

And finally, next episode’s item, A Paperclip

This has been Keepsake. Thanks for listening.