1
00:00:06,089 --> 00:00:08,008
[adventurous music playing]
2
00:00:11,219 --> 00:00:14,055
[man 1] It's just got a lot
of the elements you want in a good story.
3
00:00:14,639 --> 00:00:17,308
It has the romance. The stakes are high.
4
00:00:17,392 --> 00:00:19,894
It appeals to everybody's
sense of adventure
5
00:00:19,978 --> 00:00:22,063
as well as… naked greed.
6
00:00:22,856 --> 00:00:23,982
[music fades]
7
00:00:24,065 --> 00:00:27,694
And a million-dollar treasure
is easy to get obsessed about.
8
00:00:28,194 --> 00:00:29,237
[upbeat rock music playing]
9
00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:31,531
[woman 1] What if we told you
there was a treasure chest
10
00:00:31,614 --> 00:00:33,658
somewhere in the mountains
north of Santa Fe?
11
00:00:33,742 --> 00:00:35,869
{\an8}Find the treasure chest, and it's yours.
12
00:00:35,952 --> 00:00:38,455
- It's life-changing money.
- A million dollars in gold.
13
00:00:38,538 --> 00:00:40,331
- Three million.
- Five million dollars.
14
00:00:41,750 --> 00:00:42,792
[cash register rings]
15
00:00:42,876 --> 00:00:44,878
Hundreds of thousands of people took part,
16
00:00:44,961 --> 00:00:46,671
{\an8}and only one person's gonna win.
17
00:00:46,755 --> 00:00:49,591
{\an8}Thousands of people have flocked
to Santa Fe, New Mexico
18
00:00:49,674 --> 00:00:51,176
in hopes of finding that fortune.
19
00:00:51,259 --> 00:00:54,846
[man 2] In order to find it, you'll need
to solve clues hidden in a poem.
20
00:00:55,346 --> 00:00:58,058
There's this larger-than-life character
at the center of it.
21
00:00:58,141 --> 00:01:01,519
- So, Forrest, who are you?
- I hope nobody ever finds out.
22
00:01:02,312 --> 00:01:04,105
People went nuts.
23
00:01:04,189 --> 00:01:05,982
It did turn into madness.
24
00:01:06,066 --> 00:01:07,442
[man 3] One guy called and said,
25
00:01:07,525 --> 00:01:10,653
"Tell me where the treasure is right now,
or I'm gonna kill you."
26
00:01:11,780 --> 00:01:14,616
- [man 4] The poem directed me into here.
- [man 5] Poem?
27
00:01:14,699 --> 00:01:18,328
Yeah, the treasure map, the treasure hunt.
You know?
28
00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:20,288
[man 5 sighs] Okay.
29
00:01:21,122 --> 00:01:25,293
[man 1] The treasure hunters would do
anything to get to the finish line.
30
00:01:25,376 --> 00:01:27,462
- [grunts]
- How cool was that encounter?
31
00:01:27,545 --> 00:01:29,839
I was not stopping
until I found the treasure.
32
00:01:29,923 --> 00:01:33,343
We're coming, Mr. Fenn!
We're coming. Yeehaw!
33
00:01:33,927 --> 00:01:37,263
I'm hoping whoever finds it
reburies another treasure
34
00:01:37,347 --> 00:01:39,682
'cause I don't want this…
I don't want this search to end.
35
00:01:39,766 --> 00:01:41,684
[mysterious music playing]
36
00:01:41,768 --> 00:01:45,313
[man 1] What's wild about this
treasure hunt is the treasure is real.
37
00:01:45,396 --> 00:01:46,856
It was found,
38
00:01:46,940 --> 00:01:51,152
and, despite all of the misadventures
and cautionary lessons,
39
00:01:51,236 --> 00:01:52,403
I know that…
40
00:01:54,697 --> 00:01:56,991
someone has re-hidden the treasure.
41
00:01:57,784 --> 00:01:59,244
[man 6] Let's take a break.
42
00:02:05,875 --> 00:02:07,460
[man 7] I wanted to let you know,
43
00:02:07,544 --> 00:02:09,838
I've hidden some clues
in that interview setup.
44
00:02:10,338 --> 00:02:11,172
[man 6] Oh.
45
00:02:11,256 --> 00:02:14,259
[man 7] Within all the spaces
you guys have filmed in my house.
46
00:02:15,260 --> 00:02:16,469
[man 6] Clues to what?
47
00:02:17,345 --> 00:02:19,722
[man 7] Well, I'm planning on
hiding a treasure.
48
00:02:20,557 --> 00:02:21,850
[man 6] What treasure?
49
00:02:21,933 --> 00:02:23,685
[man 7] Well, hopefully, Forrest's.
50
00:02:23,768 --> 00:02:25,770
[triumphant music playing]
51
00:02:29,232 --> 00:02:30,692
[music fades]
52
00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:34,362
[mysterious music playing]
53
00:02:59,804 --> 00:03:03,433
[man 1] I had heard about Forrest before
I even heard about the treasure hunt
54
00:03:03,516 --> 00:03:05,685
because he was kind of a celebrity
in the Santa Fe area.
55
00:03:05,768 --> 00:03:08,021
[intriguing music playing]
56
00:03:08,104 --> 00:03:10,190
Forrest, like, lived his life in chapters.
57
00:03:10,773 --> 00:03:13,026
He's this highly decorated
air force pilot.
58
00:03:13,109 --> 00:03:16,905
More than 300 combat missions.
Shot down twice, survives.
59
00:03:17,447 --> 00:03:20,200
Then becomes a noted art dealer
in Santa Fe,
60
00:03:20,283 --> 00:03:23,036
and his clients included,
like, Suzanne Somers
61
00:03:23,119 --> 00:03:25,914
and Ralph Lauren and Michael Douglas.
62
00:03:26,414 --> 00:03:29,167
Then, right, eventually,
he sells his gallery,
63
00:03:29,250 --> 00:03:33,004
and his next chapter of his life
is he's diagnosed with kidney cancer.
64
00:03:33,838 --> 00:03:35,548
[man 3] They said I had
a one-in-five chance
65
00:03:35,632 --> 00:03:37,133
of living three years.
66
00:03:37,217 --> 00:03:39,260
{\an8}So I told myself,
"I'm gonna write this poem,
67
00:03:39,344 --> 00:03:40,762
{\an8}I'm gonna hide this treasure,
68
00:03:40,845 --> 00:03:43,348
{\an8}and, with my last dying gasp,
69
00:03:43,431 --> 00:03:46,434
will be to go out there
and where that treasure chest is
70
00:03:46,517 --> 00:03:47,644
and take my own life."
71
00:03:48,895 --> 00:03:52,315
It was a great plan.
The trouble with it was I got well.
72
00:03:52,398 --> 00:03:53,524
But just because I got well
73
00:03:53,608 --> 00:03:56,653
didn't mean that I could not hide
the treasure chest anyway,
74
00:03:56,736 --> 00:03:57,695
and I did that.
75
00:03:58,780 --> 00:04:01,157
[man 1] And then he has
this treasure hunt,
76
00:04:01,241 --> 00:04:04,661
and it became
the massive phenomenon that it did.
77
00:04:04,744 --> 00:04:06,329
[music fades]
78
00:04:06,412 --> 00:04:08,539
But even though he said
that this treasure hunt,
79
00:04:08,623 --> 00:04:11,918
he expected it to take 900 years
for someone to find the treasure,
80
00:04:12,585 --> 00:04:16,756
{\an8}it wasn't until the summer of 2020,
when the treasure was found,
81
00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:19,133
{\an8}that then I thought,
"Okay, there's a story
82
00:04:19,217 --> 00:04:20,593
{\an8}because now we have an ending."
83
00:04:20,677 --> 00:04:22,595
[intriguing music playing]
84
00:04:22,679 --> 00:04:24,264
I began after it ended.
85
00:04:24,764 --> 00:04:27,058
That's what kind of
gave me an entry point.
86
00:04:28,726 --> 00:04:30,395
You can never predict the specifics,
87
00:04:30,478 --> 00:04:34,857
but I think it's a good rule of thumb
that most treasure hunts end badly.
88
00:04:35,608 --> 00:04:37,068
[music fades]
89
00:04:37,151 --> 00:04:38,111
[whip cracks]
90
00:04:42,407 --> 00:04:44,033
Most of the treasure stories we hear
91
00:04:44,117 --> 00:04:47,161
begin with some scrolled-up,
sepia-toned treasure map,
92
00:04:47,245 --> 00:04:48,413
"X marks the spot."
93
00:04:48,496 --> 00:04:50,331
- [cash register rings]
- And this was different.
94
00:04:50,415 --> 00:04:53,418
It was true to who Forrest,
this eccentric guy, was.
95
00:04:53,501 --> 00:04:55,503
[dramatic Western music playing]
96
00:04:57,046 --> 00:04:59,299
[woman] Forrest came into the store.
97
00:04:59,382 --> 00:05:03,511
{\an8}He told me that he had written a memoir,
98
00:05:03,594 --> 00:05:05,179
{\an8}and would I carry it?
99
00:05:07,557 --> 00:05:11,894
But then he said, "Nobody's gonna
wanna read this book about me,
100
00:05:11,978 --> 00:05:15,565
so I put something in there
that will make people buy it." [laughs]
101
00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:19,777
[adventurous music playing]
102
00:05:19,861 --> 00:05:21,154
[bird of prey calls]
103
00:05:26,993 --> 00:05:28,828
[Forrest] Well, I had a treasure chest.
104
00:05:29,454 --> 00:05:32,498
It was ten inches by ten inches,
and five inches deep.
105
00:05:32,582 --> 00:05:34,459
[music intensifies]
106
00:05:34,542 --> 00:05:38,004
And I started filling it up
with gold coins and gold nuggets
107
00:05:38,087 --> 00:05:40,173
and lots of rubies
and emeralds and diamonds
108
00:05:40,256 --> 00:05:43,885
and… somewhere between
one million and five million.
109
00:05:45,386 --> 00:05:49,891
I've taken this treasure chest
to a very secret and very special place,
110
00:05:49,974 --> 00:05:52,602
somewhere in the Rocky Mountains
north of Santa Fe,
111
00:05:53,478 --> 00:05:54,979
and I've hidden it there.
112
00:05:57,899 --> 00:06:01,402
If you wanna find the treasure chest,
I'll tell you how to do it.
113
00:06:01,486 --> 00:06:03,321
In my book, there's a poem,
114
00:06:03,404 --> 00:06:05,615
and there are nine clues in the poem,
115
00:06:05,698 --> 00:06:07,742
and the clues are in consecutive order.
116
00:06:07,825 --> 00:06:09,452
[music fades]
117
00:06:09,535 --> 00:06:13,456
As I have gone alone in there
And with my treasures bold
118
00:06:13,539 --> 00:06:17,293
I can keep my secret where
And hint of riches new and old
119
00:06:17,377 --> 00:06:19,796
- [bird of prey calls]
- [intriguing music playing]
120
00:06:20,588 --> 00:06:24,258
{\an8}Begin it where warm waters halt
And take it in the canyon down
121
00:06:24,342 --> 00:06:26,677
{\an8}- [man 1] Begin it…
- [man 2] Begin it where warm waters halt
122
00:06:26,761 --> 00:06:30,932
{\an8}[woman 1] Not far, but too far to walk
Put in below the home of Brown
123
00:06:31,015 --> 00:06:33,059
{\an8}[man 3] Put in below the home of Brown
124
00:06:33,142 --> 00:06:34,852
{\an8}[man 4] From there
It's no place for the meek
125
00:06:34,936 --> 00:06:36,020
{\an8}The end is ever drawing nigh
126
00:06:36,104 --> 00:06:37,897
{\an8}[woman 2] From there
It’s no place for the meek
127
00:06:37,980 --> 00:06:39,482
{\an8}[woman 3] The end is ever drawing nigh
128
00:06:39,565 --> 00:06:41,275
{\an8}[man 5] There will be no paddle
Up your creek
129
00:06:41,359 --> 00:06:42,735
{\an8}Just heavy loads and water high
130
00:06:42,819 --> 00:06:44,821
{\an8}[woman 4] Heavy loads and water high
131
00:06:44,904 --> 00:06:46,697
{\an8}[man 6] If you've been wise
And found the blaze
132
00:06:46,781 --> 00:06:48,408
{\an8}Look quickly down, your quest to cease
133
00:06:48,491 --> 00:06:50,118
{\an8}[man 7] …quickly down
Your quest to cease
134
00:06:50,201 --> 00:06:53,746
{\an8}[woman 5] But tarry scant with marvel gaze
Just take the chest, and go in peace
135
00:06:53,830 --> 00:06:56,749
{\an8}[man 8] Just take the chest
Just take the chest, and go in peace
136
00:06:56,833 --> 00:06:58,000
{\an8}[woman 6] Just take the chest
137
00:06:58,584 --> 00:07:01,087
[Forrest] Read the poem
six, eight, ten times.
138
00:07:01,170 --> 00:07:03,131
Study every line, every word.
139
00:07:04,382 --> 00:07:08,219
But if… but if you have an imagination
and you have a little bit of resolve,
140
00:07:08,302 --> 00:07:10,138
you can find that treasure chest.
141
00:07:11,222 --> 00:07:13,266
The first one to it can have it.
142
00:07:13,349 --> 00:07:15,351
[triumphant music playing]
143
00:07:18,062 --> 00:07:20,148
[music fades]
144
00:07:20,231 --> 00:07:24,902
A treasure hunt
is a great way of marketing a book.
145
00:07:24,986 --> 00:07:28,281
I don't know anybody else
who's ever done it. [laughs]
146
00:07:28,364 --> 00:07:31,159
{\an8}He said, "Will you carry this?"
and of course I said yes,
147
00:07:31,242 --> 00:07:34,203
{\an8}and did I say, "No,
I have to read it first before I decide"?
148
00:07:34,287 --> 00:07:35,371
{\an8}The answer's no.
149
00:07:35,455 --> 00:07:36,497
[upbeat rock music playing]
150
00:07:36,581 --> 00:07:39,917
{\an8}I said, "I'd be delighted to carry these,"
151
00:07:40,001 --> 00:07:43,296
{\an8}wrote him a mighty check
for something like a hundred dollars,
152
00:07:43,379 --> 00:07:45,798
{\an8}and we were off and running.
153
00:07:47,717 --> 00:07:51,304
There was a travel magazine
that highlighted the book,
154
00:07:51,387 --> 00:07:53,347
and that really set it off.
155
00:07:53,431 --> 00:07:55,266
[woman 1] A book
by Santa Fe author Forrest Fenn
156
00:07:55,349 --> 00:07:57,185
has absolutely exploded in popularity.
157
00:07:57,268 --> 00:08:00,730
[man 1] The key to a $2 million treasure
sits on a bookshelf.
158
00:08:00,813 --> 00:08:03,024
[Dorothy] The book took off.
159
00:08:03,107 --> 00:08:04,817
- The sales took off.
- [bison grunts]
160
00:08:04,901 --> 00:08:07,195
The treasure hunters took off.
161
00:08:07,278 --> 00:08:10,615
But, you know, you can't put the genie
back in the bottle.
162
00:08:10,698 --> 00:08:12,158
[laughs]
163
00:08:12,241 --> 00:08:14,368
{\an8}[woman 2] The book
and subsequent treasure hunt
164
00:08:14,452 --> 00:08:17,163
{\an8}have sent shockwaves
throughout New Mexico and beyond.
165
00:08:17,246 --> 00:08:19,540
[man 2] Businesses have been inundated
with treasure hunters
166
00:08:19,624 --> 00:08:20,917
hoping to strike it rich.
167
00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:22,835
[man 3] Santa Fe has become
the place to be.
168
00:08:22,919 --> 00:08:24,754
[woman 3] It's a Santa Fe free-for-all.
169
00:08:24,837 --> 00:08:27,924
Next stop, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Whoo!
170
00:08:28,007 --> 00:08:28,966
[man 3] Collected Works,
171
00:08:29,050 --> 00:08:31,260
the exclusive reseller
of The Thrill of the Chase,
172
00:08:31,344 --> 00:08:34,639
has been hosting live events
with its author, Forrest Fenn.
173
00:08:34,722 --> 00:08:37,975
[man 4] Residents from all over Santa Fe
have been flocking to the bookstore
174
00:08:38,059 --> 00:08:40,728
in hopes of getting some face time
with the author.
175
00:08:40,811 --> 00:08:43,439
I'm gonna get the author to sign my book.
Okay?
176
00:08:43,523 --> 00:08:46,609
- [woman] I want him to sign.
- Yeah, okay, and then we'll go.
177
00:08:48,611 --> 00:08:49,904
[man] You wanna clap for me?
178
00:08:51,614 --> 00:08:52,657
Yes.
179
00:08:53,658 --> 00:08:57,286
{\an8}- [man speaks indistinctly]
- Is my voice still okay?
180
00:08:57,370 --> 00:08:59,080
{\an8}- [man] Yeah.
- I'm not sounding hoarse?
181
00:08:59,163 --> 00:09:01,123
{\an8}Actually, I like it when I sound hoarse.
182
00:09:01,207 --> 00:09:03,000
- [man chuckles]
- It's more erotic.
183
00:09:03,084 --> 00:09:04,585
[whimsical music playing]
184
00:09:04,669 --> 00:09:08,297
The first time I met Forrest
was October of 2013.
185
00:09:08,381 --> 00:09:10,049
He was doing a book signing,
186
00:09:10,132 --> 00:09:13,177
and I went up,
and I said, "Hello, Mr. Fenn."
187
00:09:13,261 --> 00:09:15,555
"My name is Cynthia.
I'm so happy to meet you."
188
00:09:15,638 --> 00:09:18,391
And he started off…
The very first thing he said is,
189
00:09:18,474 --> 00:09:20,601
"My father is Mr. Fenn."
190
00:09:20,685 --> 00:09:21,978
"My name is Forrest."
191
00:09:22,645 --> 00:09:24,772
Okay, so come on into this room.
192
00:09:24,855 --> 00:09:30,152
So this is basically
my, um, Forrest Fenn room.
193
00:09:30,236 --> 00:09:32,405
I obviously kept all my books.
194
00:09:33,864 --> 00:09:37,910
It says,
"To Cynthia, keep looking. Forrest Fenn."
195
00:09:39,203 --> 00:09:42,206
He scared the hell out of me
the first time I saw him,
196
00:09:42,290 --> 00:09:45,585
but we just had a lot of things
that we had in common.
197
00:09:45,668 --> 00:09:48,546
I loved the outdoors. I had enthusiasm.
198
00:09:48,629 --> 00:09:50,381
Here, at almost 70 years old,
199
00:09:50,464 --> 00:09:52,925
I still have
that "don't give a frick" attitude.
200
00:09:53,009 --> 00:09:55,052
I mean, I didn't take crap from anybody.
201
00:09:55,136 --> 00:09:56,679
And neither did he.
202
00:09:56,762 --> 00:09:57,805
[pensive music playing]
203
00:09:57,888 --> 00:10:01,809
When I told Forrest how I had retired
and I was so excited
204
00:10:01,892 --> 00:10:04,520
because now I could just be
a full-time treasure hunter,
205
00:10:05,187 --> 00:10:08,774
he said that's exactly how he felt
when he retired himself.
206
00:10:09,275 --> 00:10:11,152
He understood the same freedom.
207
00:10:11,736 --> 00:10:14,322
And before we left,
he gave me his contact info,
208
00:10:14,405 --> 00:10:17,033
and he told me to email him
if I ever needed help.
209
00:10:17,783 --> 00:10:22,580
That's when I became a full-fledged
Forrest Fenn treasure hunter.
210
00:10:23,289 --> 00:10:28,044
These are my original
boots-on-the-ground pants.
211
00:10:28,127 --> 00:10:31,255
I mean, if… if you go back and look at
my pictures from way, way back,
212
00:10:31,339 --> 00:10:33,299
it's like I'm still in these pants.
213
00:10:33,382 --> 00:10:34,842
[jaunty music playing]
214
00:10:34,925 --> 00:10:38,095
So, yeah, a lot of good memories
in these pants,
215
00:10:38,179 --> 00:10:40,514
and some of them out of these pants.
216
00:10:40,598 --> 00:10:42,183
[chuckles]
217
00:10:42,767 --> 00:10:45,436
It was just
the most incredible experience,
218
00:10:45,519 --> 00:10:46,687
but, as an older biddy
219
00:10:46,771 --> 00:10:49,732
who worked for corporate America
for most of her life,
220
00:10:49,815 --> 00:10:51,275
I never did it for the money.
221
00:10:51,359 --> 00:10:53,903
I did it for the adventure.
222
00:10:54,612 --> 00:10:57,531
It's like, "My God, I am in my sixties,"
223
00:10:57,615 --> 00:11:01,744
and I'm friggin' out there in the woods
riding my bike with the bison.
224
00:11:01,827 --> 00:11:02,995
[clattering]
225
00:11:03,704 --> 00:11:04,955
I just crashed.
226
00:11:05,039 --> 00:11:08,834
For a lot of people like me, it was just
this greatest adventure of a lifetime.
227
00:11:08,918 --> 00:11:12,088
You know, you get to go out
and be Indiana Jones or whoever.
228
00:11:12,171 --> 00:11:14,882
You have a map, and you get to solve it.
You get to find it.
229
00:11:14,965 --> 00:11:16,300
[music fades]
230
00:11:18,219 --> 00:11:20,054
Before I retired, I was an engineer.
231
00:11:20,137 --> 00:11:21,972
I worked for Nikon.
232
00:11:22,056 --> 00:11:24,600
My career was problem-solving.
233
00:11:24,684 --> 00:11:26,686
[laughing]
234
00:11:28,312 --> 00:11:29,855
The first time I read the poem,
235
00:11:29,939 --> 00:11:33,150
I'm thinking, "Well, this is like work.
It's problem-solving."
236
00:11:33,776 --> 00:11:35,027
"How hard can this be?"
237
00:11:37,947 --> 00:11:39,407
[energetic rock music playing]
238
00:11:43,703 --> 00:11:46,580
[Ben] Originally, the treasure hunt,
really, was a local phenomenon,
239
00:11:46,664 --> 00:11:50,042
{\an8}but Forrest loved to be the center
of attention. He loved publicity.
240
00:11:50,126 --> 00:11:51,711
Our guest today is Forrest Fenn.
241
00:11:51,794 --> 00:11:53,587
- Thank you for joining us.
- My pleasure.
242
00:11:53,671 --> 00:11:55,589
He was also, like, great copy,
243
00:11:55,673 --> 00:11:57,425
as they used to say
in the newspaper business,
244
00:11:57,508 --> 00:11:59,760
because he's this incredible character.
245
00:11:59,844 --> 00:12:02,763
I've read the poem.
I could only determine one clue,
246
00:12:02,847 --> 00:12:05,558
so I… I doubt that I'm gonna be
the person who finds the treasure.
247
00:12:05,641 --> 00:12:07,727
Don't give up.
It's the thrill of the chase.
248
00:12:07,810 --> 00:12:11,063
[Ben] But it was not until there was
a big Newsweek story about the hunt
249
00:12:11,147 --> 00:12:12,398
that brought in a lot of people.
250
00:12:12,481 --> 00:12:14,859
The Newsweek article
took this hunt national
251
00:12:14,942 --> 00:12:16,318
and then international.
252
00:12:21,699 --> 00:12:24,368
The media starts picking up the chatter,
253
00:12:24,452 --> 00:12:26,120
and then, a few months after that,
254
00:12:26,662 --> 00:12:30,207
Forrest started doing regular appearances
on The Today Show.
255
00:12:30,291 --> 00:12:32,960
This morning,
he's with NBC's Janet Shamlian.
256
00:12:33,043 --> 00:12:37,381
Okay. We've talked you into somehow
giving us another clue this morning.
257
00:12:37,465 --> 00:12:39,592
Well, I'm not gonna put an X
on a map for you.
258
00:12:39,675 --> 00:12:40,801
- No?
- No.
259
00:12:40,885 --> 00:12:42,845
- All right, well, how about the clue?
- Okay.
260
00:12:42,928 --> 00:12:47,725
The clue is the treasure is higher than
seven… than 5,000 feet above sea level.
261
00:12:47,808 --> 00:12:51,145
[Janet] The treasure is higher
than 5,000 feet above sea level.
262
00:12:51,228 --> 00:12:52,897
- Can you give us more than that?
- No.
263
00:12:52,980 --> 00:12:54,523
- [Janet] No?
- No. That's all you get.
264
00:12:54,607 --> 00:12:55,900
{\an8}All right. Back to you guys.
265
00:12:55,983 --> 00:12:58,861
{\an8}All right, but now that goes along
with the nine previous clues.
266
00:12:58,944 --> 00:13:00,404
{\an8}that are already on our website.
267
00:13:00,488 --> 00:13:02,615
And that's when the whole thing exploded.
268
00:13:02,698 --> 00:13:04,533
His website crashed.
269
00:13:04,617 --> 00:13:07,578
{\an8}Collected Works sold 1,500 copies
in a day.
270
00:13:07,661 --> 00:13:10,956
{\an8}His book, The Thrill of the Chase,
entered the top 100 on Amazon.
271
00:13:11,540 --> 00:13:14,043
And so it developed
this whole kind of subculture.
272
00:13:14,543 --> 00:13:18,047
You had blogs, you had forums
for Fenn-chasers to talk,
273
00:13:18,130 --> 00:13:21,133
and people started posting their solutions
to the puzzle.
274
00:13:21,217 --> 00:13:24,720
Then, of course, you had all kinds
of YouTube channels devoted to the hunt.
275
00:13:24,804 --> 00:13:26,222
[all talking at once]
276
00:13:26,305 --> 00:13:29,225
Did you know, in the Rocky Mountains,
there's a treasure chest?
277
00:13:29,308 --> 00:13:30,851
And, because of the Internet,
278
00:13:30,935 --> 00:13:33,479
literally anyone could search
for this treasure.
279
00:13:33,562 --> 00:13:37,733
{\an8}All you had to do was read the poem,
and you could actually find the answer.
280
00:13:37,817 --> 00:13:42,154
{\an8}So it really did attract all types
and from all walks of life.
281
00:13:42,238 --> 00:13:45,115
I mean, you had high-school dropouts.
You had PhDs.
282
00:13:45,199 --> 00:13:47,868
There was the guy
who invented Jelly Bellies.
283
00:13:47,952 --> 00:13:50,871
There was John Wayne Bobbitt
of tabloid fame.
284
00:13:51,872 --> 00:13:54,834
Forrest just drew so many people
to this treasure hunt.
285
00:13:54,917 --> 00:13:58,212
At first, it was hundreds, then thousands,
then Today Show appearances happen,
286
00:13:58,295 --> 00:14:00,798
and then you start getting up
into the tens of thousands.
287
00:14:00,881 --> 00:14:03,926
By the end, it was over 300,000 people.
288
00:14:06,303 --> 00:14:09,223
There was just this sense
of, like, anyone could do this.
289
00:14:09,306 --> 00:14:10,432
[music fades]
290
00:14:15,396 --> 00:14:17,857
[man 1] Forrest actually did this
for a purpose.
291
00:14:18,357 --> 00:14:23,070
He wanted to bless people… like… like us,
292
00:14:23,153 --> 00:14:26,240
{\an8}hard people that grew up
in a trailer park,
293
00:14:26,323 --> 00:14:29,368
{\an8}never seen nothing, really,
or never got the chance to do anything.
294
00:14:29,451 --> 00:14:30,953
{\an8}Has potential to work.
295
00:14:31,036 --> 00:14:33,622
I've been to penitentiary five times.
You know what I mean?
296
00:14:33,706 --> 00:14:36,458
We're rednecks,
but we're not stupid rednecks.
297
00:14:36,542 --> 00:14:37,376
Yeah.
298
00:14:37,459 --> 00:14:39,670
I like to think of myself
as a intellectual guy.
299
00:14:39,753 --> 00:14:43,966
Yeah, I may be a high-school dropout,
but, you know, I… I'm no dummy.
300
00:14:45,467 --> 00:14:47,344
[pensive music playing]
301
00:14:47,428 --> 00:14:49,096
I was at a friend's house.
302
00:14:49,179 --> 00:14:52,725
He told me a guy by the name
of Forrest Fenn hid some treasure
303
00:14:52,808 --> 00:14:57,313
worth, at the time, everybody was saying
one to five million dollars.
304
00:14:57,396 --> 00:14:58,355
Like, wow.
305
00:14:58,439 --> 00:15:01,317
I… I would love to be
a millionaire one day.
306
00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:02,943
[man 1] Chick-chick-chicken.
307
00:15:04,194 --> 00:15:05,029
Chick-chick-chick…
308
00:15:05,112 --> 00:15:06,447
Come on, girl. Let's go.
309
00:15:07,740 --> 00:15:09,658
- Bye.
- Bye.
310
00:15:10,409 --> 00:15:13,412
[man 2] We're poor,
and I wanted to buy myself a house
311
00:15:13,495 --> 00:15:15,956
and, you know, live… live comfortable,
312
00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:17,958
change my life for the better.
313
00:15:18,042 --> 00:15:19,418
I love you. Drive safe.
314
00:15:30,429 --> 00:15:31,263
Okay.
315
00:15:33,057 --> 00:15:34,391
We weren't too rich,
316
00:15:34,475 --> 00:15:39,271
so, um… I ended up,
uh, going to a library.
317
00:15:40,189 --> 00:15:42,191
[whimsical music playing]
318
00:15:43,025 --> 00:15:45,277
I failed English in the ninth grade.
319
00:15:46,236 --> 00:15:47,863
I do not like reading.
320
00:15:48,822 --> 00:15:52,660
But I asked if they had a copy
of The Thrill of the Chase in.
321
00:15:52,743 --> 00:15:56,205
She said, "Yeah, we have a book on file.
It's only one copy, though,
322
00:15:56,288 --> 00:15:58,832
and we don't check out
the historical copies,
323
00:15:58,916 --> 00:16:00,417
especially if we only have one."
324
00:16:00,501 --> 00:16:05,130
Then I'm like, "Hey, uh, do you mind
if I, uh, make some copies?"
325
00:16:05,631 --> 00:16:08,759
She's like, "Yeah, go ahead.
Go ahead, sweetheart."
326
00:16:11,553 --> 00:16:13,013
Totally illegal.
327
00:16:13,097 --> 00:16:16,684
I grabbed the whole book
and copied page by page.
328
00:16:17,685 --> 00:16:20,020
Stood there for two hours.
329
00:16:20,104 --> 00:16:20,938
Each page.
330
00:16:21,021 --> 00:16:22,940
[mimics printer]
331
00:16:24,566 --> 00:16:28,362
I printed off hundreds of pages
just so I can go home and read the book.
332
00:16:28,862 --> 00:16:31,657
- I can't pay no $90 for a book.
- $90 for a…
333
00:16:31,740 --> 00:16:34,326
Man, I'm walking around without shoes.
334
00:16:34,410 --> 00:16:36,078
[music fades]
335
00:16:36,161 --> 00:16:37,830
And then I brought it to my dad.
336
00:16:38,789 --> 00:16:42,167
And I was in my garage
working an old '68 GTO.
337
00:16:42,251 --> 00:16:43,419
[engine revs]
338
00:16:43,502 --> 00:16:45,462
They read the poem to me,
339
00:16:45,963 --> 00:16:48,173
and Christopher's like,
"Listen to it, Dad."
340
00:16:48,257 --> 00:16:49,591
"Just listen to the poem."
341
00:16:49,675 --> 00:16:51,385
[Christopher] Begin it
Where warm waters halt
342
00:16:51,468 --> 00:16:52,970
And take it in the canyon down
343
00:16:53,053 --> 00:16:54,763
Not far, but too far to walk
344
00:16:54,847 --> 00:16:56,473
Put in below the home of Brown
345
00:16:56,557 --> 00:16:59,059
[man 1] When we had
first initially heard that poem,
346
00:16:59,143 --> 00:17:02,062
it's like,
"Man, he is talking about Kirwin, man."
347
00:17:02,646 --> 00:17:07,359
Cody, Wyoming has got
this old ghost mining town next to it,
348
00:17:07,443 --> 00:17:08,485
{\an8}which is Kirwin.
349
00:17:09,570 --> 00:17:12,948
It's got the Brown Mountain,
which is capitalized in his poem.
350
00:17:13,032 --> 00:17:14,408
"It's no place for the meek."
351
00:17:14,491 --> 00:17:16,535
A lot of people died
from the avalanche there,
352
00:17:16,618 --> 00:17:19,913
and gold mining out there
and shit collapsing in on 'em.
353
00:17:19,997 --> 00:17:21,623
[Christopher] Kirwin had a gold rush.
354
00:17:21,707 --> 00:17:24,585
It was one of the biggest gold rushes
in the United States.
355
00:17:24,668 --> 00:17:26,670
- Bigger than California.
- Bigger than California.
356
00:17:26,754 --> 00:17:28,464
[man 1] So everything lined up,
357
00:17:28,547 --> 00:17:31,508
and I'm like,
"Damn, it does sound like Kirwin."
358
00:17:31,592 --> 00:17:34,344
It… I mean, it's just right up the road,
too, we're talking.
359
00:17:34,428 --> 00:17:37,931
- That's pretty much right down the road.
- Right down the road. Like, 50 miles.
360
00:17:38,015 --> 00:17:38,891
Yeah.
361
00:17:38,974 --> 00:17:41,226
[Christopher] I said,
"The poem leads to Kirwin, Wyoming."
362
00:17:41,310 --> 00:17:44,438
"That's all there is to it,
and if there's anybody that can do it,
363
00:17:44,521 --> 00:17:45,731
I think we can."
364
00:17:45,814 --> 00:17:47,816
[adventurous music playing]
365
00:17:48,942 --> 00:17:49,860
[engine revs]
366
00:17:49,943 --> 00:17:51,695
[music fades]
367
00:17:52,988 --> 00:17:54,156
[man] That's where it started?
368
00:17:54,239 --> 00:17:55,949
Yeah, that's where it all started.
369
00:17:56,533 --> 00:17:58,911
That one little poem.
370
00:17:58,994 --> 00:18:02,915
You may think it's just as simple
as… definitions on a piece of paper.
371
00:18:03,415 --> 00:18:05,501
I see it as the tip of the iceberg.
372
00:18:07,795 --> 00:18:09,963
[man] It sent you guys
down the rabbit hole?
373
00:18:10,631 --> 00:18:11,465
[exhales sharply]
374
00:18:11,548 --> 00:18:14,384
A rabbit hole?
Sent us to damn never-never land.
375
00:18:15,052 --> 00:18:16,553
[intriguing music playing]
376
00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:21,266
[Ben] The treasure hunt
was this very exciting thing
377
00:18:21,350 --> 00:18:24,061
that it's easy to become obsessed with,
378
00:18:24,144 --> 00:18:28,482
so this kinda became everything
to a certain set of these searchers,
379
00:18:28,565 --> 00:18:29,650
but to get to it,
380
00:18:29,733 --> 00:18:33,821
you actually have to get out into
the quite dangerous American wilderness.
381
00:18:34,863 --> 00:18:37,574
Forrest said from the beginning
that it was in the Rockies,
382
00:18:37,658 --> 00:18:41,078
but the Rocky Mountains are huge.
They span 300,000 square miles.
383
00:18:41,161 --> 00:18:44,665
They're in six or seven states.
They go from New Mexico to Canada.
384
00:18:44,748 --> 00:18:46,458
And the Rockies are not for the meek.
385
00:18:46,542 --> 00:18:48,127
A lot can go wrong.
386
00:18:49,002 --> 00:18:51,213
There's white-water rapids
you can drown in.
387
00:18:51,296 --> 00:18:53,715
There are sheer cliffs
you can fall off of.
388
00:18:53,799 --> 00:18:56,844
There are snakes.
There's bears. There's black widows.
389
00:18:56,927 --> 00:19:00,639
And, since the poem was
extremely vague and ambiguous
390
00:19:01,598 --> 00:19:03,809
and the solutions varied so wildly,
391
00:19:03,892 --> 00:19:07,187
the same clues were sending people
to totally different locations.
392
00:19:07,271 --> 00:19:09,481
- [man 1] It's somewhere in Utah.
- [man 2] New Mexico.
393
00:19:09,565 --> 00:19:10,941
- [man 3] Nevada.
- [man 4] Wyoming.
394
00:19:11,024 --> 00:19:12,401
- [man 3] Arizona.
- [woman 1] Colorado.
395
00:19:12,484 --> 00:19:14,570
[man 4] We're on our way down
to the Rio Grande Gorge.
396
00:19:15,154 --> 00:19:16,321
[Forrest] The first clue,
397
00:19:16,405 --> 00:19:20,159
"Begin it where warm waters halt,
and take it in the canyon down,"
398
00:19:20,242 --> 00:19:22,995
if you can't figure out that clue,
you don't have anything.
399
00:19:23,078 --> 00:19:25,497
If you don't have no…
if you have not… you have nothing.
400
00:19:25,581 --> 00:19:27,124
- Nothing.
- Absolutely nothing.
401
00:19:27,207 --> 00:19:28,333
You can't nail down nothing.
402
00:19:28,417 --> 00:19:31,086
You're lost without
"where warm waters halt."
403
00:19:31,170 --> 00:19:32,671
The correct starting point.
404
00:19:32,754 --> 00:19:34,882
So first clue's a big deal.
405
00:19:35,841 --> 00:19:39,845
[Cynthia] Forrest basically said,
"Keep it simple. Anyone can solve it."
406
00:19:39,928 --> 00:19:41,597
I mean, he started off saying,
407
00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:45,058
"Don't go in a place
where an 80-year-old man couldn't go."
408
00:19:45,142 --> 00:19:47,686
{\an8}I hid that treasure chest
when I was 79 or 80,
409
00:19:47,769 --> 00:19:52,399
{\an8}and I've said that, "Don't search
any place where a 79- or 80-year-old man
410
00:19:52,482 --> 00:19:54,067
{\an8}couldn't hide that treasure chest."
411
00:19:54,151 --> 00:19:57,112
[Cynthia] So, for me,
knowing Forrest had been there
412
00:19:57,196 --> 00:19:59,823
and knowing Forrest could do it
at 80 years old,
413
00:19:59,907 --> 00:20:03,493
all of those things
were the criteria that had to fit
414
00:20:03,577 --> 00:20:06,121
for me to think it's a viable search spot.
415
00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:10,918
The first clue to the poem was,
"Begin it where warm waters halt,"
416
00:20:11,001 --> 00:20:13,837
so I always started with a hot spring,
417
00:20:13,921 --> 00:20:16,673
of which there are many in New Mexico.
418
00:20:16,757 --> 00:20:19,384
A lot of thermal activity
in the Rocky Mountains.
419
00:20:20,052 --> 00:20:24,348
It wasn't too much longer
that I discovered San Antonio Hot Springs
420
00:20:24,431 --> 00:20:25,682
on a map.
421
00:20:25,766 --> 00:20:29,436
{\an8}It was pretty accessible
and was a fairly popular fishing spot.
422
00:20:30,145 --> 00:20:33,440
In the book, Forrest described himself
as an avid fisherman.
423
00:20:33,523 --> 00:20:36,652
He talked a lot about some
of his favorite spots to fish.
424
00:20:36,735 --> 00:20:38,403
That made it very feasible that,
425
00:20:38,487 --> 00:20:41,615
had Forrest fished there
in San Antonio Creek,
426
00:20:41,698 --> 00:20:43,700
as the book seemed to infer,
427
00:20:43,784 --> 00:20:46,411
that could definitely have been
my first clue solved.
428
00:20:47,371 --> 00:20:50,540
The first thing I needed to do
was touch the water
429
00:20:50,624 --> 00:20:53,377
to make sure it really was warm,
430
00:20:53,460 --> 00:20:54,920
literally warm water.
431
00:20:55,003 --> 00:20:56,380
[suspenseful music playing]
432
00:20:56,463 --> 00:20:58,590
It wasn't too hot, and it wasn't too cold.
433
00:20:59,383 --> 00:21:01,635
The water really was warm.
434
00:21:02,219 --> 00:21:05,681
So, if I know San Antonio Hot Springs
is my warm-water solution,
435
00:21:05,764 --> 00:21:09,977
{\an8}the San Antonio Creek actually
flowed through the San Antonio Canyon,
436
00:21:10,060 --> 00:21:13,480
{\an8}and now you are going to follow that creek
"in the canyon down."
437
00:21:13,563 --> 00:21:15,565
[pensive music playing]
438
00:21:17,150 --> 00:21:18,402
[man 1] I'd rushed it.
439
00:21:18,485 --> 00:21:20,862
I went boots on the ground
right when I heard the poem,
440
00:21:20,946 --> 00:21:23,031
thinking we just gonna
bump into something, right?
441
00:21:23,115 --> 00:21:26,743
I'm telling you you're jumping the gun.
You ain't gonna find nothing significant.
442
00:21:26,827 --> 00:21:29,663
I just knew it was pointless
going out there wandering in the woods.
443
00:21:29,746 --> 00:21:31,665
'Cause I knew
there was a way to pinpoint it,
444
00:21:31,748 --> 00:21:34,126
and it wasn't just
you're going out there wandering.
445
00:21:34,209 --> 00:21:36,003
We're officially gold miners.
446
00:21:38,505 --> 00:21:39,464
Yeehaw!
447
00:21:40,465 --> 00:21:42,467
[Christopher] So I do
a little bit of research.
448
00:21:42,551 --> 00:21:44,261
You know, "How else can I nail this down?"
449
00:21:44,344 --> 00:21:46,471
And then that's when I found out
about the synonyms.
450
00:21:46,555 --> 00:21:48,432
The words are actually synonyms.
451
00:21:48,515 --> 00:21:51,435
"Where" equals "lower."
452
00:21:51,518 --> 00:21:54,396
"Warm" equals "sunshine."
453
00:21:54,479 --> 00:21:57,482
Uh, "waters halt" equals "reservoir."
454
00:21:58,233 --> 00:22:00,694
So they're synonyms.
You see what I'm saying?
455
00:22:00,777 --> 00:22:04,406
It literally describes
Lower Sunshine Reservoir.
456
00:22:04,489 --> 00:22:07,409
The warm waters halted at that reservoir.
457
00:22:08,410 --> 00:22:10,245
There was no other body of water around,
458
00:22:10,329 --> 00:22:12,956
and I knew that place
like the back of my hand.
459
00:22:13,749 --> 00:22:16,168
I've been on many adventures
around that area.
460
00:22:17,085 --> 00:22:21,340
{\an8}So we start at Lower Sunshine Reservoir
and "take it in the canyon down."
461
00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:25,218
There's only one canyon in Kirwin.
Wood River Canyon, right here.
462
00:22:26,011 --> 00:22:28,221
- So we go down Wood River Canyon.
- [tires screech]
463
00:22:28,305 --> 00:22:30,265
I'm positive we're on the right track.
464
00:22:31,892 --> 00:22:32,726
[dog barking]
465
00:22:32,809 --> 00:22:35,020
[man] In the early days
of the treasure hunt,
466
00:22:35,103 --> 00:22:38,065
it was that true American adventure…
467
00:22:38,148 --> 00:22:39,066
[dog whimpers]
468
00:22:40,567 --> 00:22:44,696
…and it was a beacon of… of hope
for so many people,
469
00:22:44,780 --> 00:22:48,241
{\an8}and that's something
that is exceedingly hard to come by
470
00:22:48,325 --> 00:22:49,785
{\an8}in the modern era,
471
00:22:49,868 --> 00:22:53,538
{\an8}is an adventure with hopes and dreams.
472
00:22:53,622 --> 00:22:54,998
[music fades]
473
00:23:01,838 --> 00:23:03,173
[man] This is fun.
474
00:23:03,965 --> 00:23:06,635
[Justin] I think, especially to those
that knew me pretty well,
475
00:23:06,718 --> 00:23:10,055
it was not a surprise that
I got wrapped up in the treasure hunt.
476
00:23:10,555 --> 00:23:13,683
Most of my family and friends
would categorize me as eccentric.
477
00:23:13,767 --> 00:23:14,726
[man] You ready?
478
00:23:15,602 --> 00:23:17,145
Ready as I'll ever be.
479
00:23:18,814 --> 00:23:21,817
I have a huge variety of hobbies,
480
00:23:21,900 --> 00:23:24,611
uh, and I have a lot of different things
that interest me.
481
00:23:24,694 --> 00:23:26,696
[intriguing country music playing]
482
00:23:30,575 --> 00:23:34,871
From woodworking
to titanium anodizing in the garage
483
00:23:35,622 --> 00:23:39,334
to just a little experiment
around near-infrared wavelengths
484
00:23:39,418 --> 00:23:40,794
as a way to create,
485
00:23:40,877 --> 00:23:43,130
well, X-ray vision, effectively,
486
00:23:44,256 --> 00:23:46,633
to software engineering,
which is my main gig.
487
00:23:49,052 --> 00:23:51,430
And a bit of rare-artifact collecting.
488
00:23:51,930 --> 00:23:53,432
This is a project I'm working on.
489
00:23:53,515 --> 00:23:56,726
These are coins that I've gathered
from all around the world
490
00:23:56,810 --> 00:23:58,103
and from different eras.
491
00:23:58,186 --> 00:24:00,188
This one, I think, is pretty special.
492
00:24:00,856 --> 00:24:03,358
A 1652 oak-tree shilling.
493
00:24:03,859 --> 00:24:08,405
The currency that helped form us, America.
494
00:24:08,488 --> 00:24:09,906
[music fades]
495
00:24:10,574 --> 00:24:12,367
I was always really into history.
496
00:24:13,118 --> 00:24:15,412
I think that's something
I got from my family.
497
00:24:17,372 --> 00:24:18,540
[gentle music playing]
498
00:24:18,623 --> 00:24:20,375
So I grew up in Tucson, Arizona.
499
00:24:21,126 --> 00:24:23,462
My grandfather was
the fish-and-game warden
500
00:24:23,545 --> 00:24:25,547
up in Montana, Wyoming, that whole area.
501
00:24:26,381 --> 00:24:28,508
I spent a lot of summers up there myself.
502
00:24:29,551 --> 00:24:32,596
And my grandfather taught me
to get out and explore
503
00:24:32,679 --> 00:24:35,056
and camp, hike, all of those things.
504
00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:37,017
I got a metal detector,
505
00:24:37,100 --> 00:24:40,228
and I must've put thousands of hours
on that thing.
506
00:24:41,938 --> 00:24:45,066
I strongly believe
that treasures can and do exist.
507
00:24:46,193 --> 00:24:47,194
{\an8}[boy 1] Okey dokey!
508
00:24:47,277 --> 00:24:49,237
{\an8}[Justin] That's been true
since I was a kid.
509
00:24:49,738 --> 00:24:51,865
{\an8}"Happy birthday,
love Grandma and Grandpa."
510
00:24:52,365 --> 00:24:53,658
{\an8}- [man] Nice.
- [woman] That's nice.
511
00:24:54,743 --> 00:24:56,036
Oh!
512
00:24:56,119 --> 00:24:58,872
{\an8}- Guess what it is!
- [man] I don't have a clue.
513
00:24:58,955 --> 00:25:00,707
{\an8}[boy 2] It's all fishermen.
514
00:25:01,416 --> 00:25:03,752
{\an8}- [boy 1] Gold! I told you.
- [boy 2] Gold books!
515
00:25:04,461 --> 00:25:07,255
{\an8}[Justin] I became
the family's resident treasure hunter.
516
00:25:07,881 --> 00:25:10,467
I think the Victorio Peak treasure
was the catalyst.
517
00:25:10,550 --> 00:25:13,178
You know, at its core,
it was just such a cool story.
518
00:25:13,762 --> 00:25:16,515
In the '90s, that treasure hunt
was a pretty big deal.
519
00:25:16,598 --> 00:25:20,185
{\an8}A search started this week
for a legendary treasure in New Mexico.
520
00:25:20,268 --> 00:25:21,978
{\an8}It is supposed to be down a hole.
521
00:25:22,062 --> 00:25:25,440
{\an8}This hole on the White Sands Missile Range
in New Mexico. Legend has…
522
00:25:25,524 --> 00:25:28,818
{\an8}[Justin] It's like every kid's
most amazing dream ever.
523
00:25:28,902 --> 00:25:32,030
Stumbling upon a cavern
with that sort of fortune.
524
00:25:32,989 --> 00:25:36,910
Who wouldn't want that?
Like, who wouldn't wanna be Indiana Jones?
525
00:25:36,993 --> 00:25:38,161
[adventurous music playing]
526
00:25:38,245 --> 00:25:40,747
He enters this cave,
and he's going into this room
527
00:25:40,830 --> 00:25:42,999
with this idol in the center
and swiping it.
528
00:25:44,251 --> 00:25:47,337
I mean, fortune and glory.
529
00:25:49,214 --> 00:25:51,925
[man on TV] Fenn then wrote
a poem with nine clues…
530
00:25:52,008 --> 00:25:53,885
[Justin] And so then jump to years later,
531
00:25:53,969 --> 00:25:56,513
when I first heard about
the Forrest Fenn treasure,
532
00:25:56,596 --> 00:25:59,558
it really reignited that spark
from my childhood.
533
00:26:00,475 --> 00:26:02,561
This was like
a needle in a football field.
534
00:26:03,270 --> 00:26:06,356
It was ten inches by ten inches
by five inches
535
00:26:06,439 --> 00:26:08,733
in the vast Rocky Mountain wilderness.
536
00:26:10,569 --> 00:26:12,821
I felt myself getting more interested.
537
00:26:14,030 --> 00:26:15,156
[music fades]
538
00:26:15,907 --> 00:26:17,909
I think it's fair to say
that, at some point,
539
00:26:17,993 --> 00:26:22,289
the treasure hunt culminated
into something more than a hobby.
540
00:26:22,372 --> 00:26:25,125
I'm still doing my work professionally
and everything.
541
00:26:26,167 --> 00:26:28,461
Mornings, evenings, weekends,
542
00:26:29,504 --> 00:26:30,880
I'm doing treasure hunting.
543
00:26:30,964 --> 00:26:32,966
[suspenseful music playing]
544
00:26:33,550 --> 00:26:36,886
When the hunt started,
we had very little to go off of.
545
00:26:36,970 --> 00:26:41,975
There was always that thought
in the back of my mind that it was buried.
546
00:26:42,058 --> 00:26:44,769
If something's buried,
the odds are astronomically low
547
00:26:44,853 --> 00:26:46,354
that you'd ever succeed in finding it.
548
00:26:47,564 --> 00:26:51,151
I realized that
a bit of scientific process was needed
549
00:26:51,234 --> 00:26:54,112
in order to have any sort of chance
at finding this.
550
00:26:54,904 --> 00:26:59,075
I had read this article that most dogs
can detect different precious metals
551
00:26:59,159 --> 00:27:00,243
six-plus feet down.
552
00:27:02,078 --> 00:27:04,414
{\an8}My thought was I could train Tucker
553
00:27:04,497 --> 00:27:07,709
{\an8}to specifically sniff out bronze,
554
00:27:07,792 --> 00:27:10,837
because the treasure chest is bronze.
555
00:27:11,630 --> 00:27:12,756
So we gave it a shot.
556
00:27:12,839 --> 00:27:14,299
At first, it was just treats.
557
00:27:14,382 --> 00:27:15,342
[funky music playing]
558
00:27:15,425 --> 00:27:17,886
And then it was treats
plus pieces of bronze.
559
00:27:18,803 --> 00:27:22,265
And the big switch happened
where I removed the treats entirely,
560
00:27:22,349 --> 00:27:23,850
and it was just bronze.
561
00:27:24,601 --> 00:27:25,769
[music fades]
562
00:27:25,852 --> 00:27:27,979
And I think
what we discovered pretty quickly
563
00:27:28,063 --> 00:27:30,982
is that he could smell bronze
at least four feet down,
564
00:27:31,066 --> 00:27:32,817
and that was more than enough.
565
00:27:34,235 --> 00:27:37,364
[Justin] I had
an unparalleled level of confidence.
566
00:27:38,490 --> 00:27:40,700
We're gonna find it.
Yeah, we're gonna find it.
567
00:27:40,784 --> 00:27:42,077
It's gonna take some time.
568
00:27:42,952 --> 00:27:44,704
[Justin] After Tucker did a pass,
569
00:27:44,788 --> 00:27:46,915
I never had to go back.
570
00:27:47,957 --> 00:27:52,420
So, now that we had the secret weapon,
the next question was where do we start?
571
00:27:53,296 --> 00:27:56,257
You know, you gotta…
you gotta start at the beginning.
572
00:27:56,341 --> 00:27:59,260
You start "where warm waters halt,"
and that kicks off the adventure.
573
00:27:59,344 --> 00:28:00,261
[country music playing]
574
00:28:00,345 --> 00:28:02,555
There were
so many different interpretations
575
00:28:02,639 --> 00:28:04,057
of "where warm waters halt."
576
00:28:05,183 --> 00:28:08,186
The first time that I went out
searching for the treasure,
577
00:28:08,269 --> 00:28:10,230
I had done a lot of research
ahead of time.
578
00:28:10,313 --> 00:28:13,441
I would scour all the Rocky Mountains
for place names
579
00:28:13,525 --> 00:28:15,694
that would resemble anything kinda warm.
580
00:28:15,777 --> 00:28:17,946
- [music fades]
- What warms the water? Well, the sun.
581
00:28:18,029 --> 00:28:19,906
Or, more specifically, the sunlight.
582
00:28:19,989 --> 00:28:23,868
{\an8}- [adventurous music playing]
- So I found Sunlight Basin in Wyoming.
583
00:28:23,952 --> 00:28:26,955
{\an8}And we had Sunlight Creek
that comes off the mountain,
584
00:28:27,038 --> 00:28:29,207
{\an8}and it ends at Dead Indian Pass.
585
00:28:29,290 --> 00:28:32,377
So the warm water halts
as those two come together.
586
00:28:33,169 --> 00:28:34,546
The cherry on top,
587
00:28:34,629 --> 00:28:36,798
in the summertime, the snow melts,
588
00:28:36,881 --> 00:28:39,759
and an X appears
on the side of the mountain,
589
00:28:39,843 --> 00:28:42,679
like, at least 100 by 100 feet,
just… [splutters]
590
00:28:44,931 --> 00:28:46,641
[music fades]
591
00:28:46,725 --> 00:28:48,393
If we "take it in the canyon down,"
592
00:28:48,476 --> 00:28:50,019
well, in Sunlight Basin,
593
00:28:50,103 --> 00:28:52,063
there's Sunlight Gorge.
594
00:28:52,147 --> 00:28:55,483
A gorge is a canyon.
That's the solution to the second clue.
595
00:28:56,651 --> 00:28:58,695
So that was going to be
our starting point.
596
00:28:58,778 --> 00:29:00,071
[stirring music playing]
597
00:29:00,155 --> 00:29:01,406
What's the third clue?
598
00:29:01,489 --> 00:29:03,491
"Not far, but too far to walk."
599
00:29:03,575 --> 00:29:07,328
There's some place you need to go
that isn't far, but you can't walk it.
600
00:29:07,412 --> 00:29:08,538
[man] There we go.
601
00:29:08,621 --> 00:29:09,873
[Justin] And so I found
602
00:29:09,956 --> 00:29:13,710
the only place in Cody
that would rent ATVs.
603
00:29:17,714 --> 00:29:21,092
[Christopher] The third clue was
"not too far, but too far to walk."
604
00:29:21,176 --> 00:29:22,302
- Guess what?
- Okay!
605
00:29:22,385 --> 00:29:24,345
Guess what? Just let me talk. Guess what?
606
00:29:24,429 --> 00:29:25,889
- It's a marathon.
- [man 1] Marathon.
607
00:29:25,972 --> 00:29:28,308
- "Too far to walk," you know?
- You gotta run.
608
00:29:28,391 --> 00:29:32,353
[Christopher] Well, Wood River Canyon,
it's the same distance as a marathon,
609
00:29:32,437 --> 00:29:34,230
so that's why it's too far to walk.
610
00:29:34,314 --> 00:29:35,523
[upbeat music playing]
611
00:29:35,607 --> 00:29:37,275
[Cynthia] "Not far, but too far to walk."
612
00:29:37,358 --> 00:29:38,568
If you take it literally,
613
00:29:38,651 --> 00:29:42,572
it sounds like it's gonna be a distance
too far to walk for someone.
614
00:29:43,156 --> 00:29:46,075
Did Forrest mean that for him
when he was 80 years old
615
00:29:46,159 --> 00:29:47,702
and he was actually doing this?
616
00:29:47,786 --> 00:29:50,955
I thought no.
Maybe it means you need to drive.
617
00:29:52,457 --> 00:29:54,751
And when you get
to San Antonio Hot Springs,
618
00:29:54,834 --> 00:29:56,836
you have to cross this little bridge.
619
00:29:57,462 --> 00:30:01,174
There was an actual building
that was a cabin that was brown.
620
00:30:01,257 --> 00:30:02,383
Holy cow.
621
00:30:03,051 --> 00:30:05,136
[Cynthia] I'm definitely
onto something here.
622
00:30:05,220 --> 00:30:06,930
I had my "home of Brown."
623
00:30:07,555 --> 00:30:09,849
[Christopher] Now we're at
"put in below the home of Brown."
624
00:30:09,933 --> 00:30:11,017
So, if you look here,
625
00:30:11,559 --> 00:30:12,977
B is capitalized in the poem
626
00:30:13,061 --> 00:30:15,104
as a person, place, or thing.
627
00:30:15,188 --> 00:30:18,233
Brown Mountain… is a place.
628
00:30:18,316 --> 00:30:21,694
- [adventurous music playing]
- It's capitalized just like it should be.
629
00:30:21,778 --> 00:30:24,280
"Put in below the home of Brown."
Below it.
630
00:30:24,948 --> 00:30:27,116
Well, below it was Kirwin.
631
00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:28,493
So far, so good.
632
00:30:29,702 --> 00:30:32,914
[Justin] "Home of Brown" was hard.
I couldn't figure it out,
633
00:30:32,997 --> 00:30:35,959
and it just so happened,
as you traverse Sunlight Basin,
634
00:30:36,042 --> 00:30:39,796
you can't help
but pass by the JD Salinger ranch.
635
00:30:39,879 --> 00:30:43,007
{\an8}Forrest talked about Catcher in the Rye
in his book.
636
00:30:43,091 --> 00:30:45,593
Several times,
he talked about Catcher in the Rye.
637
00:30:46,177 --> 00:30:49,472
Publisher for Salinger
was Little, Brown and Company.
638
00:30:50,056 --> 00:30:51,432
So, as far as I was concerned,
639
00:30:51,516 --> 00:30:53,726
Salinger Ranch
is the home of Brown, right?
640
00:30:53,810 --> 00:30:54,811
I mean, how fitting.
641
00:30:54,894 --> 00:30:55,728
[tense music playing]
642
00:30:55,812 --> 00:30:58,773
It's like, okay, from here,
"it's no place for the meek."
643
00:30:59,774 --> 00:31:01,067
I guess I'll turn it off.
644
00:31:01,150 --> 00:31:03,945
So you go off into the woods.
Like, you gotta be brave.
645
00:31:04,028 --> 00:31:05,113
[snarling]
646
00:31:05,196 --> 00:31:07,156
[man] Whoa, there's a bear. For reals.
647
00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:08,658
- [Justin] Shit.
- [woman] We gotta go.
648
00:31:08,741 --> 00:31:12,662
[Justin] Just keep talking in a low voice.
Get your bear sprays at the ready.
649
00:31:12,745 --> 00:31:15,456
Everything started lining up
even stronger and stronger,
650
00:31:15,540 --> 00:31:18,126
and then you get
"The end is ever drawing nigh."
651
00:31:18,209 --> 00:31:21,337
Make sure you keep your eyes open.
Anywhere through here is fair game.
652
00:31:21,421 --> 00:31:24,048
It's somewhere in this immediate vicinity.
653
00:31:24,132 --> 00:31:26,217
[adventurous music playing]
654
00:31:26,301 --> 00:31:29,012
[Cynthia] So, at that point,
I was in the middle of the wilderness,
655
00:31:29,095 --> 00:31:31,472
and this is so crazy because I'm alone,
656
00:31:31,556 --> 00:31:33,600
but I didn't care. I was on a mission.
657
00:31:33,683 --> 00:31:36,144
I gotta keep going.
I gotta go touch the water.
658
00:31:36,227 --> 00:31:38,980
I had to find
"the heavy loads and water high,"
659
00:31:39,063 --> 00:31:42,942
and, at that time of year,
the river was filled with boulders.
660
00:31:43,026 --> 00:31:45,403
You certainly could not paddle up it.
661
00:31:45,486 --> 00:31:49,490
So "there'll be no paddle up your creek,
just heavy loads and water high."
662
00:31:51,743 --> 00:31:55,496
[Christopher] Only one creek near Kirwin,
and it's called Cascade Creek.
663
00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:58,333
Definition of cascade is
664
00:31:58,416 --> 00:32:03,504
"of water poured downward rapidly
in large quantities."
665
00:32:03,588 --> 00:32:05,131
"Heavy loads and water high."
666
00:32:06,299 --> 00:32:07,508
But, for me,
667
00:32:07,592 --> 00:32:09,719
this is where I reached the end
668
00:32:09,802 --> 00:32:11,179
with just the poem.
669
00:32:11,679 --> 00:32:14,140
We had it all lined up to the tee.
670
00:32:14,223 --> 00:32:18,728
The only thing that we were missing
was visualizing the final clue,
671
00:32:18,811 --> 00:32:21,856
{\an8}but I knew I was supposed to be
at Cascade Creek.
672
00:32:21,940 --> 00:32:22,941
{\an8}That's all I knew.
673
00:32:24,025 --> 00:32:26,319
Trying to figure out
what this "heavy loads" was
674
00:32:26,402 --> 00:32:29,697
and this "water high,"
and we couldn't quite piece it together.
675
00:32:29,781 --> 00:32:33,910
Sometimes you need to take a step back
and reanalyze and get a new footing.
676
00:32:34,911 --> 00:32:36,955
It… it helps kinda hit that reset.
677
00:32:39,374 --> 00:32:40,708
[Cynthia] The first trip I'd go,
678
00:32:40,792 --> 00:32:42,961
I never could find anything
that stood out.
679
00:32:43,461 --> 00:32:46,547
I never use the word "failure."
680
00:32:46,631 --> 00:32:50,093
When your day's over, and you just
can't find the treasure chest,
681
00:32:50,176 --> 00:32:53,137
{\an8}for me, it's like, "Oh my God,
now I'm going to the next one."
682
00:32:53,221 --> 00:32:55,723
{\an8}I'll look for a different hot spring
in New Mexico
683
00:32:55,807 --> 00:32:58,518
{\an8}and try to find another place
that fits the poem.
684
00:32:59,769 --> 00:33:01,771
[sweeping orchestral music playing]
685
00:33:04,023 --> 00:33:06,901
[Ben] At first, the hunt did
what Forrest said he hoped it would do.
686
00:33:06,985 --> 00:33:08,528
It got people off their couches.
687
00:33:08,611 --> 00:33:10,571
After you get through the first few years
688
00:33:10,655 --> 00:33:13,574
and the sort of
more commonsense, uh, solutions
689
00:33:13,658 --> 00:33:14,951
have not panned out,
690
00:33:15,034 --> 00:33:17,495
um, and people start getting
more and more extreme
691
00:33:17,578 --> 00:33:19,414
in… in the complexity of their solves…
692
00:33:19,497 --> 00:33:23,126
You try the simpler, you know,
seemingly more obvious thing first,
693
00:33:23,209 --> 00:33:26,087
and it's not right,
so then you gotta move up a level.
694
00:33:26,170 --> 00:33:27,171
[intriguing music playing]
695
00:33:27,255 --> 00:33:32,093
Now you really have to start thinking
more imaginatively and more complexly.
696
00:33:32,176 --> 00:33:35,304
Here's one of the ways
that I laid everything out.
697
00:33:35,388 --> 00:33:38,307
I went one through 166,
698
00:33:38,391 --> 00:33:40,852
and then I went one through 166 up
699
00:33:40,935 --> 00:33:43,187
in case there was some sort of
reverse code being used.
700
00:33:43,271 --> 00:33:46,399
[Ben] And if common sense didn't work,
then you go beyond common sense,
701
00:33:46,482 --> 00:33:49,569
and now you're sort of,
you know, overintellectualizing.
702
00:33:49,652 --> 00:33:52,030
They just start getting very wild.
703
00:33:52,113 --> 00:33:55,658
People who had just spent hours and hours
poring over this poem,
704
00:33:55,742 --> 00:33:57,160
trying to decipher it,
705
00:33:57,243 --> 00:33:59,120
coming up with
more and more elaborate theories,
706
00:33:59,203 --> 00:34:00,705
which they all called solves.
707
00:34:00,788 --> 00:34:04,125
My Nez Perce solve starts
at the first battle of Nez Perce.
708
00:34:04,208 --> 00:34:05,585
The treasure chest is in Meeteetse
709
00:34:05,668 --> 00:34:08,838
because of the line of the poem
that anagrams to Meeteetse.
710
00:34:08,921 --> 00:34:12,633
[Ben] People were looking at homophones,
words that sounded like numbers.
711
00:34:12,717 --> 00:34:14,844
They would add up to GPS coordinates.
712
00:34:14,927 --> 00:34:16,804
[man 1] I was looking at
the fours, the twos.
713
00:34:16,888 --> 00:34:18,890
- 'Cause the first coordinate was 44.
- [man 2] Ah!
714
00:34:18,973 --> 00:34:22,268
The puzzle started out as, like…
it's this objective puzzle.
715
00:34:22,351 --> 00:34:23,394
Here are the clues.
716
00:34:23,478 --> 00:34:26,314
It doesn't have much to do
with anything Forrest might happen to say
717
00:34:26,397 --> 00:34:28,816
'cause all of the truth is here
in these 24 lines.
718
00:34:29,484 --> 00:34:33,196
I do think, at a certain point,
the treasure hunters expanded the focus
719
00:34:33,279 --> 00:34:38,117
from this book to "This is the gatekeeper.
This is the guy who knows the secret."
720
00:34:38,201 --> 00:34:40,870
{\an8}- Who knows where the treasure is?
- Only me.
721
00:34:40,953 --> 00:34:42,371
{\an8}[Ben] It all got focused on Forrest.
722
00:34:42,455 --> 00:34:44,290
He was getting,
you know, 100 emails a day,
723
00:34:44,373 --> 00:34:45,792
then 150 emails a day.
724
00:34:45,875 --> 00:34:48,461
I think he definitely liked it at first.
725
00:34:48,544 --> 00:34:50,671
I mean,
he would respond to everyone. Everyone.
726
00:34:50,755 --> 00:34:55,468
And as Forrest became, really,
the center of this treasure hunt,
727
00:34:55,551 --> 00:34:58,596
he became the…
the object of interpretation,
728
00:34:58,679 --> 00:35:01,307
and everyone's obsessing
over everything he says.
729
00:35:01,390 --> 00:35:03,226
I think he couldn't help himself.
730
00:35:03,309 --> 00:35:06,562
He kind of got into the flirtation
or the game of it,
731
00:35:06,646 --> 00:35:08,439
and, given his nature to embellish,
732
00:35:08,523 --> 00:35:11,150
that, inevitably,
he just started saying things,
733
00:35:11,234 --> 00:35:13,486
um, that might be clues
or might not be clues.
734
00:35:14,487 --> 00:35:18,783
He loved teasing out this secret
that only he knew on national television.
735
00:35:18,866 --> 00:35:20,076
{\an8}And Forrest is now with us.
736
00:35:20,159 --> 00:35:22,662
{\an8}How did we talk you
into giving us another clue?
737
00:35:22,745 --> 00:35:24,539
{\an8}- I don't have a clue.
- [laughter]
738
00:35:24,622 --> 00:35:27,166
He even has, like, a monthly appearance
on The Today Show
739
00:35:27,250 --> 00:35:29,460
{\an8}to give some kind of clue or hint.
740
00:35:29,544 --> 00:35:32,338
{\an8}The treasure is not associated
with any structure.
741
00:35:32,421 --> 00:35:33,422
{\an8}[Janet] Good clue.
742
00:35:33,506 --> 00:35:35,466
{\an8}Before, you just had to pay attention
to the book,
743
00:35:35,550 --> 00:35:37,218
{\an8}but now you had to pay attention to him.
744
00:35:37,301 --> 00:35:39,011
{\an8}The treasure is not in a graveyard.
745
00:35:39,095 --> 00:35:42,515
{\an8}[Ben] There was a drib or drab of a hint
of where it was or where it wasn't.
746
00:35:42,598 --> 00:35:45,393
{\an8}The treasure is not in Idaho or Utah.
747
00:35:45,476 --> 00:35:48,563
{\an8}[Ben] The more appearances he made,
the more tape there was of him,
748
00:35:48,646 --> 00:35:50,690
{\an8}the more there was
for the community to analyze.
749
00:35:50,773 --> 00:35:54,318
I've never said that it was buried.
I've never said that it wasn't buried.
750
00:35:54,402 --> 00:35:56,904
[Ben] Forrest knew
that the treasure hunters
751
00:35:56,988 --> 00:35:59,157
would, like, read everything
into anything he said.
752
00:35:59,240 --> 00:36:01,701
The most important thing
that influenced my life
753
00:36:01,784 --> 00:36:03,077
was learn to play golf.
754
00:36:03,578 --> 00:36:06,080
[Cynthia] I would always pay attention
when Forrest was on TV,
755
00:36:06,164 --> 00:36:09,333
thinking, "Oh my God.
Is there a hint in here?"
756
00:36:09,417 --> 00:36:11,752
And it… it totally became a game.
757
00:36:11,836 --> 00:36:15,548
I mean, Forrest is playing with us.
758
00:36:15,631 --> 00:36:16,799
Or was he?
759
00:36:16,883 --> 00:36:18,301
{\an8}My father used to tell me,
760
00:36:18,384 --> 00:36:19,677
"Grab every banana."
761
00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:21,387
[man 1] Forrest said, "Grab every banana."
762
00:36:21,470 --> 00:36:23,472
[man 2] How can that apply to the chase?
763
00:36:23,556 --> 00:36:27,185
I used to work folding burger wrappers
at Burger King
764
00:36:27,268 --> 00:36:29,395
with his interviews in the background.
765
00:36:29,478 --> 00:36:34,358
A northerly direction, to me,
means anything north of 270 degrees.
766
00:36:34,442 --> 00:36:38,029
[man] Really, according to Forrest,
it doesn't have to be a real definition.
767
00:36:38,112 --> 00:36:40,072
{\an8}It can just be whatever
he wants it to mean.
768
00:36:40,156 --> 00:36:42,158
Did I give you a hint? Really?
769
00:36:42,241 --> 00:36:45,286
[Ben] Forrest was
this kind of trickster character.
770
00:36:45,369 --> 00:36:46,746
Do you know what a rake is?
771
00:36:47,330 --> 00:36:50,541
A rake is somebody that's halfway
between a scoundrel and a good guy.
772
00:36:50,625 --> 00:36:53,294
We're all charlatans to some degree.
773
00:36:53,377 --> 00:36:56,589
He said, "My natural instinct
is to embellish things a little."
774
00:36:56,672 --> 00:37:00,051
- He said, "It doesn't matter who you are."
- It doesn't matter who you are.
775
00:37:00,134 --> 00:37:03,888
- "It matters who they think you are."
- It only matters who they think you are.
776
00:37:03,971 --> 00:37:06,474
He became an unreliable narrator.
777
00:37:06,557 --> 00:37:08,809
So, Forrest, who are you,
778
00:37:08,893 --> 00:37:10,811
and who do people think you are?
779
00:37:10,895 --> 00:37:12,897
I hope nobody ever finds out.
780
00:37:12,980 --> 00:37:15,775
[Ben] Maybe that's a clue,
or maybe that's a red herring.
781
00:37:15,858 --> 00:37:19,028
Maybe I should try to infer something
from something he said,
782
00:37:19,111 --> 00:37:20,655
or maybe I should completely ignore it,
783
00:37:20,738 --> 00:37:23,407
which kind of sends the hunt
into a level of chaos.
784
00:37:23,491 --> 00:37:26,410
I think he just reveled in saying things
785
00:37:26,494 --> 00:37:28,871
that could be interpreted
in any number of ways.
786
00:37:28,955 --> 00:37:30,873
[video inaudible]
787
00:37:30,957 --> 00:37:35,086
It was fun for him. It was a game.
But it's also, like, really serious.
788
00:37:35,169 --> 00:37:36,963
The stakes were extremely high,
789
00:37:37,046 --> 00:37:40,383
and searchers were doing anything
they could to give themselves an edge.
790
00:37:42,551 --> 00:37:45,263
[Justin] I was still looking for
a new way through the poem,
791
00:37:45,346 --> 00:37:48,307
so I was paying close attention
to everything Forrest was saying.
792
00:37:48,391 --> 00:37:50,309
[gentle country music playing]
793
00:37:53,020 --> 00:37:55,898
There were thousands of solutions
that I considered.
794
00:37:57,817 --> 00:37:59,151
Let's look at this.
795
00:38:00,152 --> 00:38:02,571
Over the years, I searched Colorado,
796
00:38:02,655 --> 00:38:03,656
New Mexico,
797
00:38:03,739 --> 00:38:04,740
Wyoming,
798
00:38:04,824 --> 00:38:06,993
and I realized over time
799
00:38:07,076 --> 00:38:10,454
the poem could be made to fit
a plethora of locations.
800
00:38:11,455 --> 00:38:14,458
Hundreds and hundreds
of days of searching,
801
00:38:14,542 --> 00:38:16,168
and it just wasn't working.
802
00:38:16,252 --> 00:38:18,754
[splutters] Didn't sleep well last night.
803
00:38:19,797 --> 00:38:21,716
I was very sleep-deprived.
804
00:38:22,675 --> 00:38:26,470
There has to be
a different way of approaching this.
805
00:38:26,554 --> 00:38:29,682
This trial and error… just doesn't work.
806
00:38:29,765 --> 00:38:32,018
[mysterious music playing]
807
00:38:32,101 --> 00:38:35,855
And thus the idea was born
of using facial recognition,
808
00:38:35,938 --> 00:38:38,983
where you could actually look at
all the interviews that Forrest did
809
00:38:39,066 --> 00:38:40,735
and analyze those.
810
00:38:41,861 --> 00:38:44,280
There's a series
of what's called micro-expressions
811
00:38:44,363 --> 00:38:45,906
or action units that form.
812
00:38:46,615 --> 00:38:49,035
There's relative eyebrow movement,
813
00:38:49,118 --> 00:38:52,246
pursed lips, parted lips,
814
00:38:52,913 --> 00:38:54,790
and I'm just scratching the surface.
815
00:38:55,416 --> 00:38:59,628
If you can unlock for a person
a set of micro-expressions
816
00:38:59,712 --> 00:39:01,964
that indicate something suspicious,
817
00:39:02,048 --> 00:39:02,923
that's gold.
818
00:39:03,924 --> 00:39:07,803
There was a Lorene Mills interview
that happened early in the chase.
819
00:39:07,887 --> 00:39:11,474
{\an8}Hello. I'm Lorene Mills,
and welcome to Report from Santa Fe.
820
00:39:11,557 --> 00:39:14,352
[Justin] There were a few times
during that interview
821
00:39:14,435 --> 00:39:19,440
where the micro-expressions
strongly suggested a fear response.
822
00:39:21,108 --> 00:39:25,196
That happened when Forrest was asked
something about Yellowstone.
823
00:39:25,279 --> 00:39:27,406
I can't remember how many times
824
00:39:27,490 --> 00:39:30,826
{\an8}that I would… could hardly wait
in Yellowstone to go… to go trout fishing
825
00:39:30,910 --> 00:39:34,121
on the Madison River,
the Gallatin, the Firehole, the Gibbon.
826
00:39:34,205 --> 00:39:37,541
After I created that software,
I had a strong belief
827
00:39:37,625 --> 00:39:40,753
that the treasure was located
in the Yellowstone National Park.
828
00:39:40,836 --> 00:39:42,129
[dog barking]
829
00:39:46,175 --> 00:39:48,177
[whimsical music playing]
830
00:39:51,972 --> 00:39:54,850
[Cynthia] I really couldn't figure out
what my next step would be,
831
00:39:54,934 --> 00:39:59,063
but I remembered that Forrest told me
to email him if I ever needed help,
832
00:39:59,146 --> 00:40:00,022
so I did,
833
00:40:00,648 --> 00:40:02,441
and I got a response right away.
834
00:40:02,525 --> 00:40:03,359
[beep]
835
00:40:04,610 --> 00:40:08,155
When I was invited to go along,
it's like, "Absolutely I will go do this,"
836
00:40:08,239 --> 00:40:10,991
and that was…
that was an incredible experience.
837
00:40:11,075 --> 00:40:13,327
- [ethereal music playing]
- And it wasn't just me.
838
00:40:13,411 --> 00:40:17,748
Forrest would invite strangers
to come to his home in the early years.
839
00:40:18,249 --> 00:40:21,585
If I was his wife,
I would've killed him way long ago.
840
00:40:21,669 --> 00:40:24,046
[intriguing music playing]
841
00:40:28,342 --> 00:40:30,928
I was so nervous
when I first went to his home,
842
00:40:31,929 --> 00:40:35,724
I took a flask of Bailey's Irish Cream,
843
00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:38,352
hoping to calm my nerves.
844
00:40:39,687 --> 00:40:42,690
And he said, "Cynthia, that is insulting,"
845
00:40:42,773 --> 00:40:44,525
and it's like, "Okay."
846
00:40:44,608 --> 00:40:46,986
"No… no more Bailey's, damn it."
847
00:40:48,279 --> 00:40:49,947
[stirring music playing]
848
00:40:50,030 --> 00:40:51,740
Forrest opened the door.
849
00:40:52,241 --> 00:40:54,243
I hope my mouth wasn't hanging open.
850
00:40:54,743 --> 00:40:56,745
I mean, it was impressive as hell.
851
00:40:59,999 --> 00:41:04,003
The walls were adorned
with all sorts of artifacts,
852
00:41:05,212 --> 00:41:06,797
a lot of buffalo skulls.
853
00:41:07,756 --> 00:41:10,926
Every spot that had a place
where something could be sitting
854
00:41:11,010 --> 00:41:11,969
had something.
855
00:41:12,970 --> 00:41:14,847
[Cynthia] We sat and talked
for a little while.
856
00:41:14,930 --> 00:41:17,683
[Cynthia] There I am,
listening to everything he's telling me,
857
00:41:17,766 --> 00:41:19,935
wondering, "Is… is this a hint?"
858
00:41:20,019 --> 00:41:23,564
[Cynthia] I mean, Forrest had given out
several hints over the years,
859
00:41:23,647 --> 00:41:25,232
so it's possible.
860
00:41:26,484 --> 00:41:28,777
[Cynthia] He said,
"Okay, come back again next week,"
861
00:41:28,861 --> 00:41:32,031
and then, after that,
it's like, I was there all the time.
862
00:41:32,114 --> 00:41:33,324
He couldn't get rid of me.
863
00:41:33,824 --> 00:41:36,243
For me, the game changed.
864
00:41:36,327 --> 00:41:39,288
The game was more
than the boots on the ground
865
00:41:39,371 --> 00:41:40,831
and finding the chest.
866
00:41:40,915 --> 00:41:44,460
A lot of this game
was engaging with Forrest
867
00:41:44,543 --> 00:41:48,422
and trying to figure out
if anything he was saying was a clue.
868
00:41:48,506 --> 00:41:53,511
So it was the game of wits
between Forrest and me that I just loved.
869
00:41:54,386 --> 00:41:56,347
[man] Sounds kinda manipulative though.
870
00:41:57,431 --> 00:41:59,058
In… in what way?
871
00:41:59,141 --> 00:42:01,894
[man] Well, to…
that that was your game, right?
872
00:42:01,977 --> 00:42:05,523
Oh, so… so who was manipulating who?
873
00:42:06,357 --> 00:42:08,734
[pensive music playing]
874
00:42:08,817 --> 00:42:11,695
[Christopher] I had to question myself,
like, "Are we completely wrong?"
875
00:42:11,779 --> 00:42:14,949
We had… we had tried the poem
and… and reached wit's end.
876
00:42:15,032 --> 00:42:17,117
It couldn't be found just looking around.
877
00:42:17,201 --> 00:42:21,372
We knew that
we had to have a pinpoint destination.
878
00:42:21,455 --> 00:42:22,957
You weren't just gonna stumble on it.
879
00:42:23,040 --> 00:42:25,084
So we were studying day and night.
880
00:42:25,167 --> 00:42:27,002
[Christopher] We're listening
to each interview
881
00:42:27,086 --> 00:42:30,005
over and over and over and over.
882
00:42:30,089 --> 00:42:31,590
[man 1] I mean, I've studied this man.
883
00:42:31,674 --> 00:42:35,886
I wanted to know how many times he folded
his shit paper before he wiped his ass.
884
00:42:35,970 --> 00:42:38,430
- [laughter]
- That's how bad I studied this man.
885
00:42:38,514 --> 00:42:41,850
He lived in my head rent-free
for 24 hours of the day.
886
00:42:41,934 --> 00:42:43,102
[Forrest speaking on TV]
887
00:42:43,185 --> 00:42:46,313
I was not stopping
until I found the confirmation,
888
00:42:46,397 --> 00:42:49,358
and that tells me,
"You're on the right track,
889
00:42:49,441 --> 00:42:50,776
and you're close."
890
00:42:51,652 --> 00:42:52,570
And then, Forrest Fenn,
891
00:42:52,653 --> 00:42:55,072
he was invited to
this New Mexico radio show.
892
00:42:55,155 --> 00:42:58,033
The guy asked him
about this guy named Andrew Briggs.
893
00:42:58,742 --> 00:43:01,870
- Forrest Fenn, good to see you.
- Good morning to you, Richard.
894
00:43:01,954 --> 00:43:03,789
[Richard] Now, I got this email
895
00:43:03,872 --> 00:43:06,208
from a gentleman
by the name of Andy Briggs.
896
00:43:06,292 --> 00:43:08,252
who said he's found a code word.
897
00:43:08,335 --> 00:43:10,588
If you overlay the code word,
898
00:43:10,671 --> 00:43:13,007
it solves the entire riddle
899
00:43:13,090 --> 00:43:15,968
with the exception of one small thing
he couldn't quite get.
900
00:43:16,051 --> 00:43:18,345
- You're familiar with this guy, right?
- [Forrest] I am, yes.
901
00:43:18,429 --> 00:43:22,016
He's a pretty bright guy.
He's got a lot of it figured out, maybe.
902
00:43:22,099 --> 00:43:23,183
[moody music playing]
903
00:43:23,267 --> 00:43:25,728
[Christopher] He said that Andrew Briggs
is a pretty bright guy.
904
00:43:25,811 --> 00:43:27,479
He's got a lot of it figured out.
905
00:43:27,980 --> 00:43:29,064
That hit me hard.
906
00:43:30,065 --> 00:43:31,900
A lot of people thought he was joking.
907
00:43:32,401 --> 00:43:35,321
A lot of people said,
"Oh, no, he's just pulling the guy's leg."
908
00:43:35,404 --> 00:43:37,865
I said, "No, no,
what this guy has is significant."
909
00:43:37,948 --> 00:43:39,199
[suspenseful music playing]
910
00:43:39,283 --> 00:43:42,411
Andrew Briggs found a keyword cipher,
911
00:43:42,494 --> 00:43:44,747
which allowed him to decrypt the poem.
912
00:43:45,247 --> 00:43:49,627
A cipher is an ancient method
for encrypting codes within a document
913
00:43:49,710 --> 00:43:51,837
so no one would know it's there.
914
00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:53,631
You have to have one keyword.
915
00:43:54,715 --> 00:43:58,177
If you use the right keyword,
you get a whole new message.
916
00:43:58,260 --> 00:44:00,763
It's the same method
that Thomas Jefferson used
917
00:44:00,846 --> 00:44:04,224
to speak with his soldiers
through a secret code.
918
00:44:04,308 --> 00:44:07,186
Andy Briggs figured out
a keyword in the cipher
919
00:44:07,269 --> 00:44:10,439
that would unlock
hidden directions in the poem,
920
00:44:11,315 --> 00:44:13,025
{\an8}and he put it all in an e-book.
921
00:44:14,109 --> 00:44:19,531
So we used the, uh, Andy Briggs method
to, uh, decrypt the poem.
922
00:44:19,615 --> 00:44:21,450
[mysterious music playing]
923
00:44:21,533 --> 00:44:24,953
Believe it or not,
sure as hell, it gives you directions.
924
00:44:25,954 --> 00:44:30,167
[Christopher, man 1] "Go west.
In a short hour, you'll see a big lake."
925
00:44:30,250 --> 00:44:31,293
"Cross it."
926
00:44:31,377 --> 00:44:34,046
"Run south. Come west."
927
00:44:34,129 --> 00:44:38,550
{\an8}[Christopher] "Aim south.
Look heading west for a gray F."
928
00:44:39,426 --> 00:44:42,846
{\an8}[man 1] We already knew we were starting
at Lower Sunshine Reservoir,
929
00:44:42,930 --> 00:44:44,264
right outside of Kirwin.
930
00:44:44,348 --> 00:44:46,642
I started running the directions
on Google Earth.
931
00:44:46,725 --> 00:44:48,227
Flying down the canyon,
932
00:44:48,310 --> 00:44:51,689
{\an8}like I'm in a f… in a plane,
flying, flying,
933
00:44:51,772 --> 00:44:53,482
when something caught my eye.
934
00:44:53,565 --> 00:44:55,067
I'm like, "Holy shit!"
935
00:44:55,567 --> 00:44:58,237
So I go and wake the boys up
at what time, son?
936
00:44:58,320 --> 00:45:00,531
{\an8}- What time? Three in the morning?
- Four in the morning.
937
00:45:00,614 --> 00:45:02,783
{\an8}Three, four in the morning in tears.
938
00:45:02,866 --> 00:45:04,910
I about shit myself.
939
00:45:04,993 --> 00:45:07,705
- [uplifting music playing]
- Sure as shit. There it is.
940
00:45:07,788 --> 00:45:10,666
The gray F is
carved on the side of the mountain.
941
00:45:11,375 --> 00:45:13,460
So I zoom in and hit the topo.
942
00:45:13,544 --> 00:45:16,004
What's it at? 10,200 feet.
943
00:45:16,088 --> 00:45:19,007
[Forrest] I've said that the treasure's
above 5,000 feet,
944
00:45:19,091 --> 00:45:21,093
and it's below 10,200 feet.
945
00:45:21,176 --> 00:45:24,388
Why would he say 5,000 feet and 10,200?
946
00:45:24,471 --> 00:45:26,473
Why not say five and 11?
947
00:45:28,016 --> 00:45:31,520
Now it says, "Aim south,"
so we're aiming south,
948
00:45:32,229 --> 00:45:33,772
and guess where that takes me?
949
00:45:34,481 --> 00:45:36,358
Right back to Cascade Creek.
950
00:45:37,109 --> 00:45:41,447
- [music intensifies]
- This came in as a huge confirmation.
951
00:45:41,530 --> 00:45:43,657
- [music fades]
- Like, "Holy shit."
952
00:45:43,741 --> 00:45:47,119
Not only did the poem line up,
the cipher lined up too.
953
00:45:47,786 --> 00:45:50,914
It takes me back
to the exact same place again.
954
00:45:50,998 --> 00:45:52,332
Cascade Creek.
955
00:45:52,416 --> 00:45:54,376
I'm like, are you fucking kidding me?
956
00:45:55,210 --> 00:45:56,837
You run into one coincidence,
957
00:45:56,920 --> 00:45:58,630
yeah, that's a coincidence.
958
00:45:58,714 --> 00:46:01,759
You run into a coincidence
after a coincidence after a coincidence…
959
00:46:01,842 --> 00:46:03,844
- That's evidence.
- That's evidence.
960
00:46:04,845 --> 00:46:06,847
[adventurous music playing]
961
00:46:08,056 --> 00:46:09,683
[man 1] We're coming, Mr. Fenn.
962
00:46:10,476 --> 00:46:11,393
We're coming.
963
00:46:12,561 --> 00:46:15,272
[Christopher] At that point,
I'm positive we're on the right track.
964
00:46:15,355 --> 00:46:16,482
And we're off.
965
00:46:16,565 --> 00:46:19,109
[man 1] We start taking Cascade Creek up.
966
00:46:19,193 --> 00:46:21,320
Well, as we're going up Cascade,
967
00:46:21,403 --> 00:46:25,032
there's blaze markers in the trees
that are hatchet.
968
00:46:25,115 --> 00:46:25,949
Oh!
969
00:46:26,033 --> 00:46:28,243
- Well, you can see the hatchet marks.
- [music fades]
970
00:46:28,327 --> 00:46:30,370
You see the hatchet marks where… he made.
971
00:46:30,454 --> 00:46:32,873
They're old blaze markers
from the '30s and '40s.
972
00:46:32,956 --> 00:46:35,167
- [Christopher] Mining trails.
- [man 1] Mining trail.
973
00:46:35,250 --> 00:46:36,794
They made 'em for navigation.
974
00:46:37,586 --> 00:46:40,631
- [stirring music playing]
- The final clue was, uh, the blaze.
975
00:46:40,714 --> 00:46:42,466
Just like the poem says.
976
00:46:42,549 --> 00:46:45,886
"If you've been wise and found the blaze,
look quickly down, your quest to cease."
977
00:46:46,553 --> 00:46:48,889
[man 1] As long as I see
them blaze markers,
978
00:46:48,972 --> 00:46:50,474
I know I'm in the right spot.
979
00:46:51,308 --> 00:46:52,851
- There's nine blaze markers…
- Nine.
980
00:46:52,935 --> 00:46:54,019
…on the trail.
981
00:46:54,102 --> 00:46:57,147
[both] There's nine clues.
Nine blaze markers.
982
00:46:57,940 --> 00:47:00,400
[man 1] We're thinking,
"Let's see if we can find anything."
983
00:47:01,026 --> 00:47:03,278
We go out there,
and we tear up a few things,
984
00:47:03,362 --> 00:47:04,696
looking around.
985
00:47:04,780 --> 00:47:08,200
If you're looking for a treasure,
they're always found buried.
986
00:47:08,283 --> 00:47:12,037
- [thud]
- At the center of that area was a boulder.
987
00:47:13,247 --> 00:47:15,374
And you could see, plain as day,
988
00:47:15,457 --> 00:47:19,753
how logs were dropped and stacked
to where the boulder would roll
989
00:47:19,837 --> 00:47:23,757
and hit the log
and roll to a specific spot.
990
00:47:24,591 --> 00:47:27,511
Man, my mom and stepdad
ran a tree business.
991
00:47:27,594 --> 00:47:32,558
Both of the two trees, boom, boom,
dropped dead sy… sy… symmetrical.
992
00:47:33,308 --> 00:47:36,186
This boulder,
he blasted, anyways, from up there.
993
00:47:36,270 --> 00:47:37,563
The boulder had no other choice
994
00:47:37,646 --> 00:47:39,439
but to come right through
these two stumps.
995
00:47:39,523 --> 00:47:41,775
I was like,
"Oh my God, he didn't bury it."
996
00:47:41,859 --> 00:47:42,943
"He entombed it."
997
00:47:43,026 --> 00:47:46,822
He put it on the ground,
and he put a… boulder on it.
998
00:47:47,781 --> 00:47:50,033
[Christopher] He set the chest there
and then set, like,
999
00:47:50,117 --> 00:47:51,535
some dynamite on the wall
1000
00:47:51,618 --> 00:47:53,912
and then blew it and let nature cover it.
1001
00:47:53,996 --> 00:47:55,038
[detector beeping]
1002
00:47:55,122 --> 00:47:56,874
[man 1] Christopher, come here.
1003
00:47:56,957 --> 00:47:58,166
[detector buzzing]
1004
00:47:58,250 --> 00:48:00,419
[man 1] Whoo-ee!
1005
00:48:00,502 --> 00:48:03,589
That's a good-ass sign! Oh my!
1006
00:48:03,672 --> 00:48:05,048
[Christopher] Let me see something.
1007
00:48:05,132 --> 00:48:08,051
Well, Mr. Fenn, we got camp set up.
1008
00:48:08,760 --> 00:48:11,805
We're here to stay.
We gotta secure our… our fortune.
1009
00:48:11,889 --> 00:48:13,682
[unsettling music playing]
1010
00:48:13,765 --> 00:48:17,102
[Christopher] It sucked, yeah.
We were freezing. Might've died.
1011
00:48:17,185 --> 00:48:20,647
I've risked my life out there.
We both risked our lives out there.
1012
00:48:20,731 --> 00:48:23,275
We were in the middle of the canyon,
freezing to death.
1013
00:48:23,942 --> 00:48:26,028
But we all had our jobs to do.
1014
00:48:27,362 --> 00:48:30,157
[man 1] At that point, we knew
the treasure was under the rock.
1015
00:48:30,949 --> 00:48:32,034
Yeah.
1016
00:48:32,826 --> 00:48:34,620
I said, "The boulder's gotta go."
1017
00:48:34,703 --> 00:48:36,705
[echoing digging]
1018
00:48:42,002 --> 00:48:43,670
[music fades]
1019
00:48:43,754 --> 00:48:45,923
[Report from Santa Fe theme music playing]
1020
00:48:47,883 --> 00:48:51,011
[Lorene] You've tapped into this passion
1021
00:48:51,094 --> 00:48:55,474
for… for mystery and for treasure hunts
and pirate booty.
1022
00:48:55,557 --> 00:48:57,184
All these things. People…
1023
00:48:57,267 --> 00:49:00,270
You have just tapped into a vein,
not of gold,
1024
00:49:00,354 --> 00:49:03,732
but of magic and mystery
that people are really hungry for.
1025
00:49:03,815 --> 00:49:05,859
[stirring music playing]
1026
00:49:05,943 --> 00:49:08,153
[Ben] This gold madness,
treasure craziness
1027
00:49:08,236 --> 00:49:11,198
meant people were taking
greater and greater physical risks.
1028
00:49:11,281 --> 00:49:13,742
There's a line in the poem,
"no place for the meek."
1029
00:49:13,825 --> 00:49:17,120
I mean, in hindsight, I think that was
a very ill-advised line to put in the poem
1030
00:49:17,204 --> 00:49:19,665
because any…
anyone could reasonably read that
1031
00:49:19,748 --> 00:49:22,876
to mean, like,
"I'm gonna have to go somewhere
1032
00:49:22,960 --> 00:49:24,670
that really has a lot of dangers."
1033
00:49:25,253 --> 00:49:27,047
But these were armchair treasure hunters.
1034
00:49:27,130 --> 00:49:29,132
A lot of them
had never been camping, right?
1035
00:49:29,216 --> 00:49:32,344
And suddenly they're going into
some of the most forbidding wilderness
1036
00:49:32,427 --> 00:49:33,887
in North America.
1037
00:49:33,971 --> 00:49:37,724
You have people rappelling
into the Grand Canyon
1038
00:49:37,808 --> 00:49:39,476
with not enough rope to reach the bottom.
1039
00:49:39,559 --> 00:49:43,105
You have people
wearing jeans and a thin shirt
1040
00:49:43,188 --> 00:49:46,525
into Dinosaur National Monument in winter.
1041
00:49:47,317 --> 00:49:49,736
The risks,
the physical risks people were taking,
1042
00:49:49,820 --> 00:49:51,822
the tough spots people were getting into.
1043
00:49:51,905 --> 00:49:54,783
I mean, so many crazy things happened
1044
00:49:54,866 --> 00:49:56,451
that… that… that tells you
1045
00:49:56,535 --> 00:49:59,079
the level of obsession
for some of these people.
1046
00:49:59,162 --> 00:50:01,915
There have been unintended consequences
1047
00:50:01,999 --> 00:50:03,834
because, in the last six months,
1048
00:50:03,917 --> 00:50:06,878
there's been a Texas woman
on the treasure hunt
1049
00:50:06,962 --> 00:50:10,799
who got lost in Bandelier,
had to be rescued.
1050
00:50:10,882 --> 00:50:14,177
So can you,
in the interests of… of human kindness,
1051
00:50:14,261 --> 00:50:15,929
give some warning to people?
1052
00:50:16,013 --> 00:50:17,514
{\an8}It's the Rocky Mountains,
1053
00:50:17,597 --> 00:50:19,933
{\an8}and there are certain rules
that you need to observe
1054
00:50:20,017 --> 00:50:21,309
when you go into the forest.
1055
00:50:21,893 --> 00:50:25,272
But you know, the American people
should not have to be told those things.
1056
00:50:26,940 --> 00:50:28,442
There are always exceptions,
1057
00:50:29,151 --> 00:50:30,736
and they learn the hard way.
1058
00:50:30,819 --> 00:50:31,778
{\an8}[uneasy music playing]
1059
00:50:31,862 --> 00:50:33,697
{\an8}[woman 1] This Colorado man
hunting for treasure
1060
00:50:33,780 --> 00:50:35,657
{\an8}in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is missing.
1061
00:50:35,741 --> 00:50:37,993
{\an8}[woman 2] Fifty-four-year-old Randy Bilyeu
told a friend
1062
00:50:38,076 --> 00:50:40,037
{\an8}he planned to travel
on the Rio Grande River
1063
00:50:40,120 --> 00:50:41,204
{\an8}nearly two weeks ago.
1064
00:50:41,288 --> 00:50:44,499
{\an8}[woman 3] His car was found in
a remote area outside Santa Fe,
1065
00:50:44,583 --> 00:50:45,542
{\an8}where he left it.
1066
00:50:45,625 --> 00:50:49,337
{\an8}Randy left in a raft
with his faithful dog, Leo.
1067
00:50:51,339 --> 00:50:55,469
His plan was to float the Rio Grande
in January or February.
1068
00:50:59,514 --> 00:51:01,767
I think he got a raft from Walmart.
1069
00:51:01,850 --> 00:51:05,687
{\an8}[woman 3] The raft was found
nine miles further downstream.
1070
00:51:05,771 --> 00:51:08,857
{\an8}Miraculously, little Leo was still alive.
1071
00:51:08,940 --> 00:51:10,692
[music intensifies]
1072
00:51:10,776 --> 00:51:12,778
Let me know as soon
as you find out anything,
1073
00:51:12,861 --> 00:51:14,654
and I'm not gonna tell his wife yet.
1074
00:51:14,738 --> 00:51:16,615
[Cynthia] Forrest was contacted
by state police,
1075
00:51:16,698 --> 00:51:19,576
saying, "This guy was searching
for your treasure chest."
1076
00:51:19,659 --> 00:51:21,453
"Do you have information about him?"
1077
00:51:22,204 --> 00:51:23,413
And, of course, he didn't.
1078
00:51:23,497 --> 00:51:26,666
{\an8}[woman 3] Forrest Fenn himself
has joined the search for Randy,
1079
00:51:26,750 --> 00:51:28,251
{\an8}but hope is fading.
1080
00:51:28,335 --> 00:51:31,505
{\an8}We didn't find Randy.
But we gave it a good shot.
1081
00:51:31,588 --> 00:51:32,672
[tense music playing]
1082
00:51:32,756 --> 00:51:34,716
[Cynthia] They finally ran out
of places to search,
1083
00:51:34,800 --> 00:51:35,884
and they called it off.
1084
00:51:37,135 --> 00:51:40,680
{\an8}The treasure hunter who disappeared
several months ago has been found dead.
1085
00:51:40,764 --> 00:51:42,682
[man] Fifty-four-year-old
Randy Bilyeu's remains
1086
00:51:42,766 --> 00:51:44,267
were found along the Rio Grande.
1087
00:51:44,351 --> 00:51:45,894
[woman] Randy Bilyeu is one of hundreds
1088
00:51:45,977 --> 00:51:48,730
who've gone looking
for Fenn's $2 million treasure,
1089
00:51:48,814 --> 00:51:50,857
but the first to die while doing it.
1090
00:51:51,483 --> 00:51:54,361
{\an8}People started questioning, "Forrest,
why don't you call off the hunt?"
1091
00:51:54,444 --> 00:51:56,613
{\an8}Like, "Why…
why is this thing still going on?"
1092
00:51:56,696 --> 00:52:00,367
"How can you continue
what had been fun and games
1093
00:52:00,450 --> 00:52:02,869
now that it was a matter
of life and death?"
1094
00:52:02,953 --> 00:52:05,455
{\an8}Tonight, there are calls
for a man to end his treasure hunt.
1095
00:52:05,539 --> 00:52:08,792
{\an8}This treasure hunt is ludicrous,
1096
00:52:09,292 --> 00:52:12,003
{\an8}out of control, dangerous,
1097
00:52:12,087 --> 00:52:13,505
{\an8}and it should be stopped.
1098
00:52:15,215 --> 00:52:17,634
[Justin] How do you come back
from losing a life?
1099
00:52:18,343 --> 00:52:22,514
And that's… that's the crux of this.
It's a double-edged sword.
1100
00:52:22,597 --> 00:52:24,432
I certainly couldn't fault him
for ending it
1101
00:52:24,516 --> 00:52:27,894
based on how things had transpired.
1102
00:52:27,978 --> 00:52:28,979
Uh, it was…
1103
00:52:31,022 --> 00:52:34,025
He was really stuck
between a rock and a hard place.
1104
00:52:34,109 --> 00:52:35,318
He really was.
1105
00:52:36,611 --> 00:52:38,238
Shit happens, you know?
1106
00:52:38,321 --> 00:52:41,700
When… when you get out of bed
every morning, shit happens.
1107
00:52:42,951 --> 00:52:45,412
So my point of view was,
1108
00:52:45,495 --> 00:52:47,038
"Do not call this off."
1109
00:52:47,539 --> 00:52:51,334
I was so nervous
about what could happen to the chase.
1110
00:52:51,418 --> 00:52:56,089
I thought, "Oh my God.
What if someone else dies?"
1111
00:52:56,173 --> 00:52:58,675
"What if it happens again?"
1112
00:52:58,758 --> 00:53:00,051
[woman] How's it going?
1113
00:53:00,844 --> 00:53:03,805
I th… I think it's
out of control. [chuckles]
1114
00:53:03,889 --> 00:53:06,016
- [jaunty music playing]
- [man] Just plain madness.
1115
00:53:06,099 --> 00:53:09,269
That's the only way to describe
the state of this treasure hunt.
1116
00:53:09,352 --> 00:53:11,897
I was like,
"This is findable. I can do this."
1117
00:53:12,564 --> 00:53:14,608
[Christopher] God.
We lived out there all year round.
1118
00:53:14,691 --> 00:53:17,736
Sixteenth day out here on the boulder.
1119
00:53:17,819 --> 00:53:19,070
It… it went crazy.
1120
00:53:20,197 --> 00:53:21,281
Oh fuck.
1121
00:53:21,364 --> 00:53:23,158
[woman] We had the SWAT team.
1122
00:53:23,241 --> 00:53:25,744
They wanted to take us all
into protective custody.
1123
00:53:25,827 --> 00:53:29,664
[Justin] I had this driving obsession
to find this before anyone else.
1124
00:53:29,748 --> 00:53:30,624
[man] In my opinion,
1125
00:53:30,707 --> 00:53:33,919
Mr. Fenn should reevaluate
his, uh, treasure hunt.
1126
00:53:34,002 --> 00:53:37,964
And, at this point, everyone's wondering,
"What's Forrest gonna do now?"
1127
00:53:38,048 --> 00:53:40,217
"What is
this unreliable trickster character
1128
00:53:40,300 --> 00:53:41,635
gonna do next?"
1129
00:53:42,385 --> 00:53:45,513
[Justin] The treasure hunt
was like someone offering you a ticket
1130
00:53:45,597 --> 00:53:47,390
and saying, "You wanna take the ride?"
1131
00:53:47,891 --> 00:53:48,767
[music fades]
1132
00:53:48,850 --> 00:53:49,851
I took the ticket.
1133
00:53:49,935 --> 00:53:53,730
My advice is, if someone gives you
a ticket to ride, you take the ride.
1134
00:53:53,813 --> 00:53:55,190
[chuckles]
1135
00:53:55,273 --> 00:53:57,150
[closing theme music playing]
1136
00:54:35,188 --> 00:54:37,107
[music fades]