But when the Great Recession hit in 2008, he decided to bury it in the Rockies and launch what became a massive, international treasure hunt.
Diagnosed with cancer in 1988, Fenn said he filled the chest with treasure and planned to take it up into the Rockies to die beside it, maybe thinking he could take it with him? Well, it turned out that Fenn survived his brush with cancer and tucked the chest away in his house for 20 years. Fenn said he’d hidden a foot-square treasure chest stuffed with valuables, claiming it was loaded with emeralds, diamonds and gold coins and weighed about 40 pounds.He did, however, come under heavy criticism for buying and excavating (some would say desecrating) a Pueblo Indian site in New Mexico which may have been the source of his treasure. A self-described millionaire, Fenn came under FBI scrutiny once for selling Native American artifacts he claimed to have found in the Four Corners area, but no charges were filed. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, Fenn was an aging amateur archaeologist who reportedly amassed a fortune in gold and jewels while doing controversial explorations in the southwest. Unlike so many tales of buried treasure, the story of Forrest Fenn’s lost loot proved to be all too real because it’s no longer lost.
Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” A few years ago we reported on the curious tale of Forrest Fenn’s hidden treasure and how hordes of people became obsessed with finding it. 1 Timothy 6:20 warns us, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.