A treasure chest filled with gold, jewels and other valuables has finally been discovered in the Rocky Mountain Wilderness in the US, 10 years since it was hidden as part of an elaborate treasure hunt.
A decade ago, millionaire Forrest Fenn, 89, hid the chest in the national park and posted clues to its whereabouts online and in a poem in his 2010 autobiography The Thrill of the Chase. Over the years, thousands of people have embarked on the quest, all eager to get their hands on the prize. But, unfortunately, no one could master the quest, with some even dying along the journey – until now.
Speaking to the Santa Fe New Mexican over the weekend, Fenn said the treasure chest had been located by a man who wished to remain anonymous, and he sent through a photo as proof. However, the photo is yet to be released. Apparently, it had been hidden under a “canopy of stars” in the Rocky Mountains and hadn’t moved from where Fenn had placed it more than 10 years ago.
“I don’t know the person who found it, but the poem in my book led him to the precise spot,” Fenn told the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Since Fenn first placed the chest in the wilderness, he has been back to the location several times. On each occasion, he placed more valuables into the chest, including sprinklings of gold dust, rare gold coins and nuggets, pre-Columbian animal figures, prehistoric ‘mirrors’ of hammered gold, ancient Chinese faces carved from jade and antique jewellery.
Fenn previously told the Santa Fe New Mexican the chest weighed a whopping 9 kilograms, and its contents were another 10kg. But with more valuables added over time, it no doubt weighs even more now. As for how he’s feeling right now with the quest completed – Fenn said he has mixed feelings.
“I don’t know, I feel halfway kind of glad, halfway kind of sad because the chase is over,” he told the Santa Fe New Mexican. “I congratulate the thousands of people who participated in the search and hope they’ll continue to be drawn by the promise of other discoveries.”
Meanwhile, for those who have been following the story over the years, or even attempted to find the chest themselves, the hunt is over, with many taking to social media to share their thoughts on the extraordinary discovery. Some expressed their excitement that it had been found, while others are just eager to know where it had been hiding for all of those years.
“Holy s**t someone found it! If you live west of the Mississippi you’ve likely heard of Forrest Fenn and the almost 50 pounds of gold, diamonds, artefacts etc. he hid in the Rocky Mountains ‘somewhere’,” @RMcardsfan wrote on Twitter. While @PsychoActual commented: “Congrats to the person who beat me to Fenn’s treasure. I went last August looking. I just want to know where it was.” And @sukutner added: “That’s amazing! I’m watching the Exhibition Unknown show about it right now!”