Ten years ago, Forrest Fenn hid a treasure chest filled with more than $1 million worth of jewels, gold, and other valuables in the Rocky Mountains. He left clues to the chest's whereabouts in a 24-line poem in his 2010 autobiography, The Thrill of the Chase.
For the past decade, hundreds of thousands of treasure hunters have ventured into the Rocky Mountains, looking for the bronze chest. Some people quit their jobs and invested their life savings as they searched for the treasure, while at least four people died as they tried to uncover the location of the hidden chest.
Over the weekend, Fenn announced that the search has finally come to an end. He said that the chest was discovered by a man from "back East." Fenn did not reveal the identity of the treasure hunter or where the chest had been hidden all those years.
"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 a statement. "I do not know the person who found it, but the poem in my book led him to the precise spot."
Fenn said that he had mixed feelings about the ten-year treasure hunt coming to an end.
"I don't know, I feel halfway kind of glad, halfway kind of sad because the chase is over," Fenn said. "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."
Photo: Getty Images