A long-hidden, $1 million in treasure has finally been found in the Rocky Mountains.
At this point, it is safe to say that 2020 has not been one of the strangest years on record and the odd headlines just keep coming. The latest news is that a 10-year-long hunt for a chest filled with treasure has finally come to an end.
CNN reports the man who originally hid the treasure, 89-year-old Forrest Fenn, an art collector from New Mexico, announced on his website that the chest filled with gold and jewels was finally found deep in the Rocky Mountains recently. The treasure, hidden in a bronze chest, is said to include the usual gold as well as diamonds, emeralds and rubies. In all, the treasure's value was estimated to be at least $1 million.
Fenn made international headlines back in 2010 when he first announced he had hidden the treasure. The only clues he gave for finding it were included in a poem that was published in his autobiography: "The Thrill of the Hunt." The New York Times further reports that Fenn originally had the idea for the hunt after being diagnosed with kidney cancer. He hid the treasure after making a full recovery.
The vagueness of the clues meant a huge search area. Searchers only knew that the chest was buried somewhere in the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 5,000 feet. Problem is, the Rocky Mountains cover a huge search area from as far south as New Mexico all the way up north through Colorado, Wyoming and into parts of Montana.
The lure of treasure caused some people to end up in over their heads in the hunt. At least two people were killed looking for the treasure and some others had to be rescued. It eventually led to some authorities calling for Fenn to recover the treasure and call off the hunt, but he refused. Fenn was still vague about where the treasure was hidden in his announcement. He said he learned of the discovery when the man emailed him photos of the find.
"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," Fenn said on his website. "I do not know the person who found it, but the poem in my book led him to the precise spot."
The lucky finder of the chest does not want to be named. We cannot say we blame him. Fenn said there will be more information on the discovery, along with photos of the treasure coming soon.
"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," Fenn said in the statement.
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