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Treasure chest hidden for 10 years found in Rocky Mountains, reports say

Millionaire Forrest Fenn hid a treasure box worth millions back in 2010, leading to thousands to look for it

Stock image/David Bartus (Pexels)

If, by chance, you’ve been trying to find a hidden treasure chest somewhere in the Rocky Mountains over the past 10 years, feel free to call off the search.

In 2010, New Mexico multimillionaire Forrest Fenn hid a treasure chest in the Rocky Mountains valued at more than $2 million and encouraged people to go find it, according to TODAY.

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It took 10 years, but Fenn revealed over the weekend that the treasure chest filled with coins, nuggets, diamonds and emeralds has been found.

Fenn broke the news on a blog devoted to the hunt, the Thrill of the Chase.

"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 in the blog. “I do not know the person who found it, but the poem in my book led him to the precise spot.”

Fenn told TODAY that the chest was found by a man “from back East” who didn’t want to be identified.

The man confirmed he found the treasure by sending Fenn a photograph of it.

Fenn gave nine hints about the treasure’s location in a poem published in his memoir that has the exact same name as his blog, “The Thrill of the Chase.”

The hints about the location were: “Begin it where warm waters halt, and take it in the canyon down. Not far, but too far to walk. Put in below the home of Brown.”

The exact location of the chest has not been revealed yet.

Fenn told the Santa Fe New Mexican that he estimated 350,000 people have searched for it, with many quitting their jobs to try and find the chest.

There were even casualties of the chase, with the Santa Fe New Mexican reporting that at least five people died searching for the chest. One of those fatalities was a pastor who was found dead along the Rio Grande just west of Santa Fe, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

That led the New Mexico state police to call on Fenn to end the quest, but he kept it on.

The Santa Fe New Mexican also reported that multiple people have filed lawsuits against Fenn, claiming misleading clues -- or that the quest was already solved.

Another woman in Chicago is filing an injunction in federal District Court, alleging she was hacked by someone she didn’t know after she solved the puzzle, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Fenn, an 89-year-old man who made his fortune as an art dealer, said he hid the treasure as a way to encourage people to get outside and enjoy the wilderness.


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