Is Forrest Fenn Treasure Real? Hunt For $2M Bounty Claims Another Life

Almost eight years ago, a man made rather tall claims of burying a chest full of treasure somewhere in the Rocky Mountains in northern America.

Since then, many have enthusiastically set out to find the $2 million worth treasure buried by Forrest Fenn, a Santa Fe millionaire, but reportedly, none have found it. Moreover, hunting for the treasure has been a fatal pursuit for as many as three people.

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The latest victim, Eric Ashby, of Colorado Springs was hunting for the treasure with four others in a gorge and is believed to have drowned when his raft overturned on the Arkansas River. According to reports, he was last seen in June and is said to have moved to Colorado in hopes of finding the treasure. Fremont County investigators claimed Monday they found a body east of Florence in the Arkansas River and were working to determine if it was Ashby.

The previous death was reported only a month ago, after a Colorado pastor, Paris Wallace’s body was found in New Mexico. Before that, the remains of Randy Bilyeu were found in 2016, months after he went missing.

Fenn, who was an antiques dealer, reportedly hid the treasure containing “gold and jewels” and left clues in the form of a poem in his self-published book "The Thrill of the Chase."

“The biggest clue of all is: Don’t look for the treasure any place where an 80-year-old man could not have taken it,” he said in an interview with People magazine. “That eliminates half the places where people are looking.”

Following his instructions, it is believed that as many as 65,000 people are believed are looking for the hidden treasure in the area stretching from Montana to New Mexico.

There is a rising call to stop the treasure hunt after deaths have been reported. Some have even questioned the legitimacy of Fenn’s claims and the existence of the treasure. Recently, Linda Bilyeu, Randy's ex-wife said she believed the treasure was a hoax. "Randy lost his life searching for 'nothing,’” she said. Adding, "I believe it's a hoax due to an abundant amount of common sense. After seven months of in-depth research, I have yet to discover one iota of concrete evidence that the chest does exist.” Talking about Fenn, she said: “The attention motivates him. That's all he needs. It's oxygen to him."

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Even law enforcement officers have criticized Fenn, with New Mexico's police chief Pete Kassetas saying: "This is putting lives at risk. I would implore that he stop this nonsense. Certainly, we want people to get outdoors and enjoy New Mexico but you have to do it safely. I think he has an obligation to retrieve his treasure if it does exist."

Fenn has maintained the treasure was not in a dangerous place and was easy to find, but the men were not looking in the right place.

Replying to those who called the treasure a hoax, Fenn told People magazine: "Somebody figures out in their own mind exactly where the treasure is, and they go there and it’s gone. They decide one of two things: either somebody has already found it and taken it home, or the whole story is a hoax. So they ask me how I can prove that I actually hid the treasure. What can I do? The only thing is to take them out there. Lots of people saw the treasure chest when it was in my vaults before I hid it."