The Bizarre Tale of Forrest Fenn’s Treasure Hunt: A Journey Through Mystery and Intrigue

When Santa Fe art dealer Forrest Fenn hid a treasure chest in the Rocky Mountains, it set off a phenomenon, inspiring the Netflix documentary, “Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn’s Treasure.”

This treasure, estimated to be worth between $1 and $5 million, drew over 300,000 “clue solvers” to embark on a real-world treasure hunt over a decade, poring over maps, studying source material, and risking their lives in pursuit of the treasure.

In the summer of 2020, it was finally discovered in Wyoming by Jack Stuef, a 32-year-old medical student, who used the clues to piece together the location where Fenn had wished to die.

The Search for Forrest Fenn’s Famed Treasure

In 2010, Forrest Fenn wrote a self-published memoir, “The Thrill of the Chase,” which contained nine cryptic clues intended to guide seekers to a 42-pound treasure chest he had hidden in the Rocky Mountains.

As a former decorated fighter pilot and art dealer, Fenn’s clients included Ralph Lauren and Michael Douglas. While Fenn was a well-known Santa Fe local, it was not until he hid the loot that he captured international attention. During the 2010s, appearances on The Today Show and other national media fueled the legend, while online forums, YouTube channels, and blogs formed a dedicated treasure-hunting subculture.

Many hunters devoted countless hours to the search for the treasure, with some going to prison and five people even losing their lives. It was not until June 2020 that Jack Stuef, a 32-year-old medical student, finally solved the clues and found the treasure in Wyoming. Eventually, Stuef auctioned off the treasure’s contents, including a gold copper pendant dating back 1,000 years and a necklace from 500-1,000 BC.

A New Chapter: A Treasure Hunt Reimagined

The story doesn’t end there. One buyer in the auction featured in the Netflix documentary, Justin Posey, began a new treasure hunt inspired by Forrest Fenn that includes some of the original treasures in addition to his own collection. Posey, a Texas-based software engineer, was a dedicated hunter in the search for Forrest Fenn’s treasure, and through the course of the documentary, it reveals that Posey hides clues through his series of interviews.

Today, hunters have begun searching for Posey’s new 60-pound treasure, which includes gold bars, rubies, emeralds, a meteorite, and cryptocurrency. Just as Fenn wrote a book containing clues to finding his treasure, Posey published “Beyond the Map’s Edge,” which includes a poem revealing the location of the loot.

Treasure hunter Eric Johnson describes his search for Posey’s treasure, “I’ve read everything, both books, all of the information on the website, and way too many wacky theories on Reddit and Discord. This treasure hunt is kind of like wine. The deeper you dive, the less you realize you actually know.”

Meanwhile, Indiana-based Mike Kress describes what inspired his pursuit, “What drives me most is the story. The layers of history, the symbols, the way people encoded meaning into land and legend.”

At the heart of the hunt is to honor Forrest Fenn, while sparking a love for the outdoors, and to carry on the adventure.

The Bottom Line

Forrest Fenn’s treasure hunt led thousands of people to search remote areas of the wilderness for his famous chest. As dedicated searchers lost their jobs, depleted their savings, and went to extreme lengths, the search swirled with controversy and intrigue. 

While Forrest Fenn’s treasure was eventually found in 2020, a new search dedicated in his honor has begun, with clues embedded in Justin Posey’s “Beyond the Map’s Edge” and the recently released Netflix documentary, “Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn’s Treasure.”