Mystery buried treasure has US obsessed

Catch the SBS report on modern-day treasure hunters on Dateline tonight (Tuesday 24 June) at 9.30pm on SBS ONE.

IT SOUNDS like the plot of an Indiana Jones tale.

A dying man with a passion for archeology and adventure hides an Aztec treasure chest filled with gold nuggets as big as chicken eggs in America's Rocky mountains.

The only clue to its whereabouts is a cryptic poem which has driven treasure hunters to the brink of obsession, with thousands who will stop at nothing to find it.

Only it's not a fairytale, but the true story behind 83-year-old art dealer and archaeologist Forrest Fenn, who has captured the global imagination with an old fashioned treasure hunt.

This photo provided by Forrest Fenn contains the chest that is purported to hold hundreds of rare gold coins and other artefacts hidden in the Rocky mountains. Pic: AP, Addison Doty Source: AP

SBS Dateline reporter Nick Lazaredes was drawn to the story about a year ago while travelling in the US as a change of pace from the "usually miserable" stories journalists normally report.

"It's in a part of America I was fascinated with and the more we looked the more layers there were. It was causing troubles, attracting a fringe of lunatics, all sorts which made it look quite interesting," he said.

The man behind the mystery is Forrest Fenn, an octogenarian Mr Lazaredes describes as "about as close to Indiana Jones as you can get". The former Vietnam fighter pilot returned to America and started working as an art dealer and archaeologist, finding ancient relics across America's south west. In the late 1980s a brush with cancer meant he hatched a plot to give something back to society.

Forrest Fenn drinking a Dr Pepper at his San Lozaro Pueblo in New Mexico. Credit: Forrest Fenn Source: Supplied

Forrest Fenn pictured in his twenties. Credit: Forrest Fenn Source: Supplied

"He was always thinking of ways to give back. He's done very well and enjoyed going out and looking for objects. As a kid he would explore, it was something he wanted to encourage... The treasure hunt was a way of getting families out engaged in a hobby," Mr Lazaredes said.

Mr Fenn spent 15 years planning the hunt and the chest is rumoured to contain hundreds of gold nuggets, some as large as chicken eggs. The only clue to its whereabouts is a poem published in a book by Mr Fenn called the The Thrill of the Chase .

Not surprisingly, the hunt has sparked an avalanche of interest and it's estimated about 6000 people are looking for the treasure full time, with websites dedicated to finding it.

Mr Lazaredes said hunters range from simply "obsessed" to outright "mad". For some, the clues relate to an ancient Aztec tribe that lived in the area. Others think it's located in Yellowstone National Park near where Mr Fenn spent his childhood, while others reason he was a sick old man so it must be in New Mexico close to where he lives.

Marty Kreis and her sisters looking for treasure in Yellowstone National Park. Credit: Charissa Kreis Source: Supplied

Indian petroglyphs seen while treasure hunting at the Legend Rock Petroglyff site in Wyoming. Credit: Charissa Kreis Source: Supplied

Mr Fenn refuses to say whether it's on sacred native Indian land, in a National Park, or somewhere in between. His silence has exasperated authorities as the hunt has led people to go missing, or have to be rescued from rivers.

"This year it's started to have a few issues. People have been caught with metal detectors, other people have been arrested or caught digging up ancient graves ... When we were there, there was a guy missing," Mr Lazaredes said.

"The authorities aren't really happy with him. Yellowstone [rangers] would like him to come out and say but without that there's not much they can do. If people are caught traipsing there they get the book thrown at them," Mr Lazaredes said.

SBS Dateline correspondent Nick Lazaredes interviews Forrest Fenn at his Santa Fe mansion. Credit: Dal Neitzel Source: Supplied

He's also faced criticism for plundering Native American treasures and has received death threats from desperate hunters.

There's even speculation there is no treasure at all — a notion Mr Fenn dismisses out of hand, telling Dateline the only way to prove it is to show you and "then I'd have to kill you".

But whether it's real or not, the treasure has certainly captured the global imagination.

"I'd been [to the US] 20 odd times and some of the countryside I saw was among the most amazing sites in the world. There's people checking every rock and every cave. It can be pretty fascinating," Mr Lazaredes said.

For Mr Fenn, the important thing is that people are off the couch searching.

"If nobody finds the treasure, I promise you in 1000 years from now — people will still be looking," Mr Lazaredes said.

Catch Treasure Hunters on tonight Dateline at 9:30 on SBS ONE.

Bison in snow on the treasure hunt in Yellowstone National Park Montana. Credit: Charissa Kreis Source: Supplied

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