Did Forrest Fenn betray his followers?

Fenn launched a ten year treasure hunt without a real ending

To begin, a bit of explanation because not everyone has heard of Forrest Fenn. Now deceased, he was a Santa Fe millionaire (he made his money by running a successful art gallery) who launched the greatest treasure hunt of our time.

Forrest Fenn holding his self-published memoir “The Thrill of the Chase”

Fenn, a stubborn and some say ornery rebel, came up with the idea of hiding a chest filled with gold and other valuables somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. He penned this poem and embedded it inside his self-published memoir “The Thrill of the Chase.” Fenn said there were nine clues in the poem and, if you followed them correctly, they would lead you to his treasure chest and then it was yours to keep.

The clues referenced physical locations—like the ‘home of Brown’ or ‘where warm waters halt’—and it was up to you to figure out what he was talking about. Do it and, Fenn said, “You’ll be amazed by what you find.”

There are varying estimates on how much the treasure was worth because the price of gold fluctuates but most believes it was worth between $1 and $2 million and possibly more, given the intrinsic value it acquired by being the Fenn treasure.

For ten years, between 2010 and 2020, tens of thousands of people (Fenn said the total was 350,000 but that’s probably exaggerated) got the Fenn bug and headed off into a four state area (he “narrowed” down the search to Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico) in search of Fenn’s gold. I researched and reported on the story for “48 Hours'“ where I work as a producer.

For the broadcast, we interviewed people obsessed with the treasure including Katya Luce who sold everything she owned, moved from Hawaii to New Mexico, and spent $75,000 of her own money to look for the treasure. She says she had a grand time even when confronted with a cougar or a frightening lighting storm.

We also interviewed Sacha Dent who says she spent 10,000 hours researching locations and made over 300 trips into the wilderness, often alone. She carried a gun to protect herself from humans and animals alike.

And then there are the five people who died looking for the treasure. It was their choice of course and several (not all) of their families said they were glad their relatives died doing what they loved. Fenn was asked to call off the search several times but he refused. His oft-repeated line was that people drown in swimming pools but we don’t close all the pools. We teach people how to swim.

Fenn relished the attention the hunt brought him. He loved to meet his fans at the annual Fennboree held in Santa Fe for several summers and entertained reporters and producers who flocked to his door to hear all about his life. Most of the profiles were of the fawning variety.

Fenn’s family, by all accounts, was less enthusiastic about his treasure hunt. One man threatened to kidnap Fenn’s granddaughter, there was at least one break-in at his home and delusional fans often beat a path to his home. That comes into play when one considers how the treasure hunt finally ended.

Fenn announced in June 2020 that the treasure had been found by “someone back east.” Initially that’s all the information he provided. His fans were aghast. The hunt was over and they did not know how it ended, where it was found or the identity of the person who found it.

Slowly, that began to change. Fenn later announced the he and the finder had agreed to say the treasure had been found in Wyoming. Then Fenn, who was 90, died.

Because his death came on the heels of his announcement that the treasure had been found, some began to wonder whether he knew he was dying (he reportedly had longtime heart problems) and tipped his hand to help the finder. That way, the theory goes, Fenn’s family would not have to deal with the obsessed searchers after he was gone.

The finder released a statement denying he had any help from Fenn although the two had been in touch by email. To be fair, that was not unusual; Fenn was in touch with a lot of searchers over the years.

A lawsuit required the Fenn family to reveal the finder’s name so Jack Stuef—a former medical student and one-time humor writer—outed himself on a Medium.com post and, at the same time, to journalist Dan Barbarisi who has just published a book on the Fenn phenomena.

Stuef said he would not reveal how he solved the clues in the poem or where the treasure was found. He said he did not want the spot, reportedly in a Wyoming forest, to become a tourist attraction that would upset the natural beauty and serenity Fenn found there.

Not revealing the location of the treasure is Stuef’s choice of course. He does not owe the rest of the searchers anything.

That is not the case with Fenn. He launched the hunt, encouraged people to go out into the wild (where five of them died and who knows how many others were injured), and watched as searchers spent tens of thousands of dollars. But in the end, Fenn refused to honor his end of the bargain.

The hunt was in essence a contract between Fenn and those who bought his book and took part in the chase. When you start a contest like this, I believe you’re morally obligated to reveal the answer to the puzzle you created. But before he passed away, Fenn stopped communicating about his game. In retrospect, it would have been better if Fenn would have revealed his game-winning solve and kept Jack anonymous. For reasons stated above, that didn’t happen.

It is akin to having a lottery but never revealing the winning numbers; it’s just not fair. Alex Trebek always gave you the answer to Final Jeopardy. When you create a game and ask people to play, there is an implicit promise that you’ll reveal the answer to the game. But Fenn refused.

The searchers who took part in good faith in Fenn’s game were left hanging. They spent a good chunk of time, effort and money trying to decipher the clues in Fenn’s cryptic poem, and in the end, their hero turned his back on them. They have no idea how Stuef solved those clues or where the treasure was found.

The searchers don’t have the satisfaction of knowing how close they came or even if they were wildly off. Right or wrong, it’s always better to know. So great is their thirst to know the ending that some treasure hunters are still searching and ruminating online, trying to solve Fenn’s puzzle to this day.

Stuef alone now can satisfy this need without violating his own vow not to reveal the treasure’s ultimate location. There were nine clues in Fenn’s poem and he can reveal the solve for eight of them without pinpointing where X marks the spot. At the very least, it would satisfy a primal desire by the searchers and it would fulfil Fenn’s contract. The final location would not be known but you can’t tell me the searchers wouldn’t welcome some knowledge.

It’s a lot better than what the searchers have now which is nothing.

I hope you’ll take the time to subscribe to future posts at the link above. It’s all free! And please share or leave a comment here if anything resonates with you. Meanwhile, you’ll find me and my haikus etc on Twitter @paullarosa