The Ultimate Treasure Hunt

If the name Forrest Fenn rings a bell, it’s likely not because of his service to the United States, even though he received a silver star for his role as a combat pilot in the Vietnam War. Flying 328 missions in 365 days is quite impressive. But few know him for it.

Fenn’s name recognition is also not likely due to the art gallery he and his wife owned and operated in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Fenn Galleries did grab a great deal of attention, though. Known for selling Native American artifacts and a variety of other artwork, the gallery grossed over $6 million a year. But Fenn and his gallery made regional news a few years back for allegedly selling illegally obtained Native American stuff (nothing illegal was found).

In 2010, Fenn wrote his memoirs, The Thrill of the Chase, a series of short stories about his life. The self-published book never became a New York Times #1 bestseller by a long shot. But the book served as a launch-pad from which his name recognition took off.

A 1988 cancer diagnosis that was supposed to be terminal served as the impetus for his writing. So, he hatched a plan for his burial place. But before his body was to be laid to rest there, he thought it would be a fun legacy to bury a treasure in the spot, give some clues to its location, and send people out looking for it. Finders keepers.

Fenn used The Thrill of the Chase to publicize the treasure hunt and offer clues to finding it. The most significant set of clues was buried in an enigmatic poem in the chapter “Gold and More”:

For the first couple of years, response to the treasure hunt was tepid—few bothered to buy his memoirs and take up the search. Until a major publication wrote an article on Fenn’s Treasure, which went viral. Before long, scores—hundreds of people—took up the challenge.

Obsession

Many obsessively so. 48 Hours ran an episode on the hunt and reported that treasure seekers formed clubs and online networks to discuss possible interpretations of the clues. One guy dedicated a regular podcast to the phenomenon. One woman recounted the thousands of dollars and countless hours she invested in her quest. Some spent every available holiday and all their vacation days in the wilderness lands of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, or Montana. Clearly, they longed to find that treasure! Yet some admitted their greatest thrill was the hunt itself, even if they never actually found the $2 million dollar stash of loot.

Some fatally so. At least five individuals lost their lives searching for Fenn’s gold. 48 Hours and Wikipedia identified the victims:  

• Randy Bilyeu went missing in January 2016 and was found dead in July. His body was discovered by workers along the Rio Grande, and an autopsy could not determine cause of death….
• Jeff Murphy (age 53) of Batavia, Illinois, was found dead in Yellowstone National Park on June 9, 2017, after falling about 500 feet (150 m) down a steep slope. Yellowstone officials did not provide details to the public concerning their investigation, but KULR-TV filed a Freedom of Information Act request. The television station reports that Murphy’s wife told park authorities that he was looking for the treasure when she first reported him missing.
• Pastor Paris Wallace of Grand Junction, Colorado, told family members that he was searching for a buried treasure, but he failed to show up for a planned family meeting on June 14, 2017. His car was found parked near the Taos Junction Bridge, and his body was found 5 to 7 miles downstream along the Rio Grande.
• Eric Ashby (age 31) was found dead in Colorado’s Arkansas River on July 28, 2017. Friends and family stated that he had moved to Colorado in 2016 to look for the treasure and was last seen on June 28 rafting on the river 10 to 15 miles upstream from where his body was found. The raft overturned, and Ashby had been missing since that time.
• Michael Wayne Sexson (age 53) of Deer Trail, Colorado, was found dead by rescuers on March 21, 2020, alongside his unnamed 65-year-old male companion, who later recovered in hospital. Authorities were notified by the person who rented a pair of snowmobiles to the men. The pair were discovered within 5 miles of a site they had been rescued from a month earlier, near the Dinosaur National Monument along the Utah-Colorado border.

Following each of these tragic deaths, some begged Fenn to call off the hunt—it was just too dangerous and wasn’t worth the risk of more lives lost (Fenn refused). Understandable emotional response, to be sure, but each treasure hunter knew the risks and was more than ready to accept them before venturing off into the wilderness. And after all, I just got back a few weeks ago from Zion National Park, home of the Angels Landing Trail where 13 people have died in the last few years. The trail’s still open.

Discovered!

Finally, at long last, on June 6, 2020, Forrest Fenn announced his treasure had been found.

It was under a canopy of stars in the lush, forested vegetation of the Rocky Mountains and had not moved from the spot where I hid it more than 10 years ago. I do not know the person who found it, but the poem in my book led him to the precise spot. I congratulate the thousands of people who participated in the search and hope they will continue to be drawn by the promise of other discoveries. So the search is over.

Took a while before the discoverer was identified (for obvious reasons, he didn’t want the publicity), but in December, Jack Stuef, a medical student from Michigan, came forward and took credit for the find. Oh, and Forrest Fenn had died three months prior to the public revelation.

Hmmmm….

Now think about this. A somewhat eccentric old guy buries a treasure worth a cool couple million bucks and tells about it in a book. Some people buy the book just to get the clues to the treasure’s whereabouts. They study the book, trying to make sense of the clues. Then they sacrifice tremendous amounts of time, energy, resources, and even relationships to go looking for the loot…yet they have to know that the chances they will be the lucky one to find it are incredibly slight. Then there’s the possibility that this Fenn guy came up with an elaborate hoax—and there were plenty of naysayers who suggested the hoax theory. What if there is, in fact, no buried treasure to be found? And IF someone ever does find it, only one someone will—unless, of course, he or she has a partner.

Needed: Treasure Hunters!

Now, with all of that as a backdrop, consider this selection from a far different book—one of the Bible’s wisdom books:

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.

Proverbs 2:1-8 (emphasis mine)

Notice the “if…then” statement?

• What if we approached God’s book with the same interest, enthusiasm, and intensity that the Fenn treasure hunters handled The Thrill of the Chase?
• What if we invested some time searching for “hidden treasures”?
• What if we actually considered biblical truth to be more valuable than silver or gold?
• What if we really, really wanted to “understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God”?

If so, would that affect our priorities? Influence our church attendance? Motivate us to show up for Sunday Bible Study? Invest in some quality reading and study materials? Contribute more faithfully to our local church, supporting the ministry of helping us mine the wealth of the Bible?

Oh, and don’t miss the wonderful contrasts between Fenn’s Treasure and God’s.

• Fenn gave cryptic clues with no help in interpreting them. God’s “clues” are rather straightforward, and He gifts individuals in the church to aid in understanding (see Ephesians 4:11-14).
• Fenn’s character could be called into question and his word doubted (and it was!). God’s character is impeccable; His word, absolutely trustworthy.
• With Fenn’s treasure, only one person (or team of cohorts) could enjoy the spoils of their find. Not God’s. Anyone, everyone who seeks, finds.
• Fenn’s treasure is perishable in time—eventually it will be gone. If the finder simply stores it in the chest in his attic, it’ll do him no good. If he spends it, it dissipates. The treasure is subject to pillage and other forms of loss.
• Ahh, but God’s treasure is not only timeless, it increases in volume and value. As the treasure is used, it doesn’t dissipate; it grows! If it’s treasured in the heart, it inevitably blesses others! The longer one enjoys the treasure, the more valuable it becomes!

I suppose I could go on, but you get the picture. Personally, when I watched the 48 Hours episode on Fenn’s Treasure, I was a bit smitten by my relatively meager efforts at seeking divine treasure of eternal worth.

Pardon me…I’m off to get my shovel….