1 00:00:15,410 --> 00:00:25,690 Speaker 1: Pushkin. This is the second of two episodes about Forest 2 00:00:25,850 --> 00:00:30,930 Speaker 1: Fens Treasure. Last episode, an eccentric art dealer hid a 3 00:00:31,010 --> 00:00:34,850 Speaker 1: box containing at least a million dollars worth of treasure 4 00:00:35,450 --> 00:00:39,130 Speaker 1: somewhere in the mountains north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. 5 00:00:40,370 --> 00:00:45,130 Speaker 1: Then he published a series of cryptic clues that sparked 6 00:00:45,130 --> 00:00:49,090 Speaker 1: a global quest for the riches. If you haven't heard 7 00:00:49,130 --> 00:00:51,890 Speaker 1: part one yet, go back and listen to that first. 8 00:00:57,010 --> 00:01:04,330 Speaker 1: Someone is closing in on Forest Fens Treasure. It's summer. 9 00:01:05,330 --> 00:01:11,330 Speaker 1: Golden sun slants through the branches of towering pines, catching 10 00:01:11,490 --> 00:01:17,370 Speaker 1: on ancient bark. The searcher has been circling and scouring 11 00:01:17,450 --> 00:01:21,210 Speaker 1: this part of the forest for weeks. Now this is 12 00:01:21,250 --> 00:01:30,170 Speaker 1: the place to get here. They've methodically solved a series 13 00:01:30,210 --> 00:01:34,050 Speaker 1: of clues in a poem, and they've crossed canyons and 14 00:01:34,370 --> 00:01:40,250 Speaker 1: pastures where bison and elk roam behind them. Glints the 15 00:01:40,290 --> 00:01:46,730 Speaker 1: broad silver sweep of the river ahead. The trees press 16 00:01:46,810 --> 00:01:54,330 Speaker 1: in almost as if they're guarding something. The searcher first 17 00:01:54,450 --> 00:01:58,610 Speaker 1: learned about this quest a few years ago. Since then, 18 00:01:59,490 --> 00:02:04,770 Speaker 1: they've thought about it each and every day and thralled. 19 00:02:06,850 --> 00:02:11,050 Speaker 1: They've consumed everything they can about the life of Forest Fen, 20 00:02:12,170 --> 00:02:16,090 Speaker 1: the enigmatic art dealer who hid the prize, looking for 21 00:02:16,170 --> 00:02:20,410 Speaker 1: details that might help them solve the puzzle. At times, 22 00:02:20,770 --> 00:02:25,930 Speaker 1: they've resented Fenn, fearing that the elusive treasure chest would 23 00:02:25,970 --> 00:02:31,290 Speaker 1: haunt them forever. They're looking forward to getting their hands 24 00:02:31,370 --> 00:02:35,850 Speaker 1: on nuggets of gold and precious gems, not because they 25 00:02:35,930 --> 00:02:38,930 Speaker 1: want to keep the riches, but because they have debts 26 00:02:38,970 --> 00:02:44,930 Speaker 1: to pay. Forest Fen's fortune will help the searcher make 27 00:02:44,970 --> 00:02:52,650 Speaker 1: a fresh start. They're far from the beaten track now, 28 00:02:53,450 --> 00:02:59,530 Speaker 1: and the forest is quiet and still. They're nearly there. 29 00:03:01,130 --> 00:03:08,130 Speaker 1: They can feel it. I'm Tim Harford, and you're listening. 30 00:03:09,370 --> 00:03:43,730 Speaker 1: Cautionary Tales twenty seventeen. Deep in Wooded Hyde State Park, 31 00:03:43,930 --> 00:03:49,050 Speaker 1: New Mexico, a festival was in full swing. At first glance, 32 00:03:49,090 --> 00:03:53,570 Speaker 1: it might have resembled any other summer gathering. Decorated pavilions, 33 00:03:53,890 --> 00:03:58,410 Speaker 1: picnic tables laden with burgers, beers, and boxed wine, and 34 00:03:58,490 --> 00:04:02,050 Speaker 1: a campsite where revelers chatted as they pitched their tents. 35 00:04:03,290 --> 00:04:08,810 Speaker 1: On closer inspection, between the burgers and beers and weathered 36 00:04:08,850 --> 00:04:12,850 Speaker 1: matt swighted down with coffee mugs, you might have spotted 37 00:04:13,570 --> 00:04:18,450 Speaker 1: dog eared copies of a memoir the thrill of the chase. 38 00:04:20,450 --> 00:04:23,810 Speaker 1: Everyone at the gathering was interested in the same thing, 39 00:04:24,930 --> 00:04:29,730 Speaker 1: a bronze lock box about ten by ten by five inches, 40 00:04:30,250 --> 00:04:36,090 Speaker 1: stuffed with gold gems and rare artifacts hidden somewhere in 41 00:04:36,170 --> 00:04:43,010 Speaker 1: the rocky mountains. For this was Fenburye, the annual celebration 42 00:04:43,330 --> 00:04:52,290 Speaker 1: of Forest Fens famous treasure hunt. In twenty ten, Fenn 43 00:04:52,410 --> 00:04:57,130 Speaker 1: had published a six stanza poem containing nine clues to 44 00:04:57,170 --> 00:05:01,290 Speaker 1: the location of the treasure, a siren call that set 45 00:05:01,530 --> 00:05:06,810 Speaker 1: thousands of boots on the trail. As I have gone 46 00:05:06,890 --> 00:05:10,970 Speaker 1: alone and there, and with my my treasure's bold I 47 00:05:11,050 --> 00:05:14,730 Speaker 1: can keep my secret wear and hint of riches new 48 00:05:14,850 --> 00:05:20,050 Speaker 1: and old. Begin it where warm waters halt, and take 49 00:05:20,090 --> 00:05:24,010 Speaker 1: it in the canyon down, not far but too far 50 00:05:24,090 --> 00:05:29,250 Speaker 1: to walk. Put in below the home of Brown. From 51 00:05:29,250 --> 00:05:32,970 Speaker 1: there it's no place for the meek. The end is 52 00:05:33,090 --> 00:05:37,730 Speaker 1: drawing ever nigh. There'll be no paddle up your creek, 53 00:05:38,570 --> 00:05:48,370 Speaker 1: just heavy loads and water high. At Fenbury, searchers tentatively 54 00:05:48,410 --> 00:05:52,730 Speaker 1: debated their theories about where the treasure was stashed. They 55 00:05:52,770 --> 00:05:57,290 Speaker 1: were reluctant to reveal too much, but were also keen 56 00:05:57,490 --> 00:06:02,330 Speaker 1: to flaunt the complexity of their solutions or solves, as 57 00:06:02,570 --> 00:06:06,810 Speaker 1: every searcher called them. Some were convinced that the fortune 58 00:06:06,890 --> 00:06:10,850 Speaker 1: was close by in Fen's home state of New Mexico. 59 00:06:11,290 --> 00:06:15,090 Speaker 1: Others believed that it was in Wyoming or Montana, but 60 00:06:15,170 --> 00:06:18,690 Speaker 1: it was generally agreed that the chest was somewhere in 61 00:06:18,770 --> 00:06:23,650 Speaker 1: the Rocky Mountains. In one of the pavilions was a 62 00:06:23,730 --> 00:06:29,770 Speaker 1: Captain America action figure painted gold with a large F 63 00:06:30,210 --> 00:06:35,610 Speaker 1: embossed on his chest. There were offerings at his feet, maps, 64 00:06:35,650 --> 00:06:42,010 Speaker 1: and other keepsakes. This was the Golden Fen, a shrined 65 00:06:42,170 --> 00:06:46,090 Speaker 1: the mastermind who united the searchers, and a mark of 66 00:06:46,130 --> 00:06:52,330 Speaker 1: the devotion he inspired in them. Near the Golden Fen 67 00:06:52,930 --> 00:06:58,210 Speaker 1: was another tribute. This one was to former salesman Randy 68 00:06:58,290 --> 00:07:02,210 Speaker 1: bill Yu, who disappeared after wandering into the bush in 69 00:07:02,290 --> 00:07:06,370 Speaker 1: the bitter midwinter with only his dog Leo for company. 70 00:07:07,370 --> 00:07:10,650 Speaker 1: He had been hoping to retrieve Eve the hidden Fortune 71 00:07:10,690 --> 00:07:15,650 Speaker 1: by rafting down the Rio Grande, but had been unprepared 72 00:07:15,810 --> 00:07:20,210 Speaker 1: for rugged terrain and dangerous weather. A few months later, 73 00:07:20,970 --> 00:07:29,130 Speaker 1: his body was found. Curiously, bill Yu's death did nothing 74 00:07:29,250 --> 00:07:34,970 Speaker 1: to quell enthusiasm for the treasure. If anything, media coverage 75 00:07:35,010 --> 00:07:39,610 Speaker 1: of his tragic demise brought in even more treasure tourists, 76 00:07:40,050 --> 00:07:43,890 Speaker 1: which in turn up the ante for those already on 77 00:07:43,930 --> 00:07:49,450 Speaker 1: the trail. One guy dies, and now there's fifty thousand 78 00:07:49,530 --> 00:07:52,970 Speaker 1: more people that year going out into the mountains, not 79 00:07:53,050 --> 00:07:56,290 Speaker 1: knowing what the hell they're doing, and risking their lives, 80 00:07:56,890 --> 00:08:03,570 Speaker 1: lamented Cynthia Meecham, a former engineer in her sixties. Cynthia 81 00:08:03,770 --> 00:08:08,130 Speaker 1: was revered by her fellow searchers and widely regarded as 82 00:08:08,170 --> 00:08:11,490 Speaker 1: one of the best. She lived in New Mexico and 83 00:08:11,570 --> 00:08:15,850 Speaker 1: had developed a friendship with Fen. I tried to pay 84 00:08:15,890 --> 00:08:21,170 Speaker 1: attention to every word, he says, She remarked, just in case. 85 00:08:23,410 --> 00:08:27,890 Speaker 1: Cynthia was sharp and logical, but the mystery also appealed 86 00:08:27,890 --> 00:08:31,850 Speaker 1: to her for its romance. She relished the chance to 87 00:08:32,010 --> 00:08:39,730 Speaker 1: go out and beat Indiana Jones. Lots of the searchers 88 00:08:39,770 --> 00:08:44,170 Speaker 1: were emotionally invested in the hunt, and at times the 89 00:08:44,250 --> 00:08:48,570 Speaker 1: treasure felt like a burden. A trainee doctor called Jack 90 00:08:48,690 --> 00:08:55,050 Speaker 1: Stouffe described days when exhausted, covered in scratches and bites 91 00:08:55,090 --> 00:08:58,810 Speaker 1: and sweat, nearing the end of my day's water supply, 92 00:08:59,370 --> 00:09:04,170 Speaker 1: I sat down and just cried alone in the woods 93 00:09:04,210 --> 00:09:11,610 Speaker 1: in sheer frustration for the hearsts. A father and two sons, 94 00:09:11,970 --> 00:09:16,490 Speaker 1: self declared rednecks from Wyoming. The Fenn Treasure was a 95 00:09:16,610 --> 00:09:21,090 Speaker 1: chance at a better life. Forrest did this for a purpose, 96 00:09:21,570 --> 00:09:27,090 Speaker 1: said father Chris Hurst. He wanted to bless people like us. Sudden. 97 00:09:27,170 --> 00:09:31,010 Speaker 1: Christopher Hurst hoped to buy himself a house. He also 98 00:09:31,090 --> 00:09:34,330 Speaker 1: wanted to look after his mother and his little sister, Angelina, 99 00:09:34,690 --> 00:09:40,010 Speaker 1: who had down syndrome. The Hearsts couldn't afford a copy 100 00:09:40,050 --> 00:09:43,130 Speaker 1: of the Thrill of the Chase. These were rare, and 101 00:09:43,170 --> 00:09:46,770 Speaker 1: some of them sold for hundreds of dollars, so Christopher 102 00:09:46,890 --> 00:09:51,090 Speaker 1: photocopied the whole of Fenn's memoir at the local library. 103 00:09:52,530 --> 00:09:56,330 Speaker 1: During his shifts at Burger King, he listened to every 104 00:09:56,570 --> 00:10:01,970 Speaker 1: Forest Fen interview he could find. Forrest lived in my head, 105 00:10:02,090 --> 00:10:05,730 Speaker 1: rent free for twenty four hours of the day. He mused. 106 00:10:08,290 --> 00:10:12,090 Speaker 1: For thirty one one year old Eric Ashby, the treasure 107 00:10:12,210 --> 00:10:15,970 Speaker 1: was a light in the dark. Eric had been raised 108 00:10:16,010 --> 00:10:21,050 Speaker 1: by a single father, Paul, in rural Tennessee. Father and 109 00:10:21,250 --> 00:10:25,930 Speaker 1: son enjoyed hiking and rafting together, and Eric also loved 110 00:10:25,930 --> 00:10:30,370 Speaker 1: fantasy books and puzzles. He was bright, had a ready laugh, 111 00:10:30,450 --> 00:10:34,050 Speaker 1: and made friends easily. He never had much money, but 112 00:10:34,250 --> 00:10:39,290 Speaker 1: material possessions weren't very important to him. In twenty fourteen, 113 00:10:39,890 --> 00:10:43,290 Speaker 1: Eric had to run of bad luck. He was injured 114 00:10:43,290 --> 00:10:48,050 Speaker 1: in a motorcycle accident and prescribed oxycodone for his immensely 115 00:10:48,170 --> 00:10:55,770 Speaker 1: painful injuries. Eventually he recovered, but according to Paul, Eric 116 00:10:56,090 --> 00:10:59,730 Speaker 1: couldn't get away from the pills. He developed an addiction. 117 00:11:01,050 --> 00:11:05,050 Speaker 1: Then Eric tried to punch a police officer. He was 118 00:11:05,090 --> 00:11:11,370 Speaker 1: sentenced to seven years probation. Eric's luck seemed to change 119 00:11:11,730 --> 00:11:16,730 Speaker 1: after he found out about Fenn's treasure. He enjoyed turning 120 00:11:16,770 --> 00:11:20,090 Speaker 1: the puzzle over in his mind and working through the clues. 121 00:11:21,250 --> 00:11:24,810 Speaker 1: The mystery was intoxicating, and it seemed to give him 122 00:11:24,850 --> 00:11:28,770 Speaker 1: a sense of purpose. He longed to be closer to 123 00:11:28,850 --> 00:11:31,490 Speaker 1: the search area so that he could go on regular 124 00:11:31,530 --> 00:11:35,930 Speaker 1: expeditions in the mountains. Moving would mean violating the terms 125 00:11:35,930 --> 00:11:39,570 Speaker 1: of his probation, but he reasoned that if he stayed 126 00:11:39,610 --> 00:11:45,610 Speaker 1: in Tennessee, he'd end up in jail anyway. In twenty sixteen, 127 00:11:46,650 --> 00:11:51,730 Speaker 1: Eric took the leap. He packed up his belongings and 128 00:11:51,810 --> 00:12:07,570 Speaker 1: headed west. Cautionary tales will return. Eric settled into life 129 00:12:07,610 --> 00:12:11,170 Speaker 1: in Colorado, Spring, a city at the foot of the Rockies. 130 00:12:12,090 --> 00:12:16,770 Speaker 1: He started dating, managed to quit the oxy codone and 131 00:12:16,810 --> 00:12:18,970 Speaker 1: found a job at a restaurant, where he also made 132 00:12:18,970 --> 00:12:22,930 Speaker 1: a group of friends. He stayed up late after his shifts, 133 00:12:23,490 --> 00:12:27,170 Speaker 1: marking up maps as he methodically assembled his solves for 134 00:12:27,250 --> 00:12:32,690 Speaker 1: the poem. Eric's father, Paul knew little about the Fen treasure, 135 00:12:32,930 --> 00:12:36,490 Speaker 1: but he was pleased his son was once again spending 136 00:12:36,570 --> 00:12:42,410 Speaker 1: time outdoors, hiking and rafting in the mountains. In twenty seventeen, 137 00:12:43,210 --> 00:12:47,290 Speaker 1: Eric made a breakthrough. He zeroed in on a stretch 138 00:12:47,370 --> 00:12:54,050 Speaker 1: of the Arkansas River where warm waters halt and everything 139 00:12:54,130 --> 00:13:00,250 Speaker 1: fell into place. A physician, doctor Brown, had once lived nearby. 140 00:13:01,250 --> 00:13:05,810 Speaker 1: This had to be the home of Brown. Fenn's poem 141 00:13:06,050 --> 00:13:10,130 Speaker 1: mentioned something called a blaze that mark the location of 142 00:13:10,170 --> 00:13:15,010 Speaker 1: the treasure, and Eric's soul had once been scorched by fire. 143 00:13:16,730 --> 00:13:19,570 Speaker 1: Eric made a few trips to the Arkansas River, but 144 00:13:20,010 --> 00:13:26,210 Speaker 1: poor weather and high waters blocked his progress. By some 145 00:13:26,410 --> 00:13:31,410 Speaker 1: of those conditions had improved, and Eric prepared for what 146 00:13:31,530 --> 00:13:36,250 Speaker 1: he hoped would be his final expedition. His girlfriend was 147 00:13:36,290 --> 00:13:42,050 Speaker 1: worried would he be safe, But unlike the fallen searcher 148 00:13:42,330 --> 00:13:46,730 Speaker 1: Randy bill U, Eric wouldn't be alone. His friends from 149 00:13:46,730 --> 00:13:50,850 Speaker 1: the restaurant were going with him. On June the twenty eighth, 150 00:13:51,570 --> 00:13:56,330 Speaker 1: Eric Ashby posted on his Facebook page, I hope today 151 00:13:56,530 --> 00:14:00,250 Speaker 1: turns out to be the success I've hoped for. Then 152 00:14:01,450 --> 00:14:07,610 Speaker 1: he headed out into the wilderness. As Eric Ashby was 153 00:14:07,730 --> 00:14:12,130 Speaker 1: sidestepping the terms of his probation, treasure hunters up and 154 00:14:12,170 --> 00:14:16,170 Speaker 1: down the rockets were risking it all for fortune and glory. 155 00:14:17,210 --> 00:14:20,450 Speaker 1: Some of them were plowing their life savings into the quest. 156 00:14:21,250 --> 00:14:25,290 Speaker 1: Searchers who'd never been camping before were now repelling into 157 00:14:25,290 --> 00:14:29,170 Speaker 1: the Grand Canyon, sometimes without enough rope to reach the ground. 158 00:14:31,010 --> 00:14:34,650 Speaker 1: Fen reminded the treasure hunters that the loot was hidden 159 00:14:34,970 --> 00:14:38,730 Speaker 1: somewhere an eighty year old man could reach on his own, 160 00:14:39,450 --> 00:14:43,490 Speaker 1: and he encouraged them to keep things simple. But bizarre 161 00:14:43,730 --> 00:14:49,890 Speaker 1: and shocking reports continued to roll in. One searcher was 162 00:14:50,010 --> 00:14:55,210 Speaker 1: caught digging up a grave in Yellowstone National Park. He 163 00:14:55,250 --> 00:15:01,010 Speaker 1: received a prison sentence for excavating and damaging archaeological resources 164 00:15:01,410 --> 00:15:05,330 Speaker 1: at a historic national landmark and had to pay over 165 00:15:05,450 --> 00:15:10,530 Speaker 1: thirty thousand dollars in restitution. My obsession with the treasure 166 00:15:11,050 --> 00:15:18,210 Speaker 1: clouded my judgment, he apologized. There were other more sinister 167 00:15:18,410 --> 00:15:23,970 Speaker 1: incidents too. A man called Francisco Chavez turned up at 168 00:15:24,130 --> 00:15:28,730 Speaker 1: Fen's gate, bearing cookies and asking to be let in. 169 00:15:30,010 --> 00:15:33,370 Speaker 1: It became clear that he was convinced the treasure was 170 00:15:33,610 --> 00:15:38,450 Speaker 1: Fenn's granddaughter, a young woman in her twenties, and he 171 00:15:38,610 --> 00:15:44,490 Speaker 1: meant to claim his prize. When Fen repeatedly sent the 172 00:15:44,530 --> 00:15:49,970 Speaker 1: man away, Chavez mailed him a package. Inside was a 173 00:15:50,010 --> 00:15:54,570 Speaker 1: picture of a large knife. He sent threats to Fenn's 174 00:15:54,610 --> 00:16:00,890 Speaker 1: granddaughter too. Eventually, the police arrested the stalker, but the 175 00:16:00,930 --> 00:16:03,730 Speaker 1: young woman was so scared that she moved out of state. 176 00:16:05,370 --> 00:16:11,210 Speaker 1: Fen too was shaken. I anticipated crazy people, but not 177 00:16:11,570 --> 00:16:18,850 Speaker 1: vicious crazy, he told journalist Daniel Barbarisi. Barbarisi found himself 178 00:16:18,890 --> 00:16:23,290 Speaker 1: reflecting that there were thousands of people looking for the treasure, 179 00:16:23,610 --> 00:16:28,010 Speaker 1: but it could only be found once. Would the failed 180 00:16:28,130 --> 00:16:32,610 Speaker 1: searchers consider the hunt over at that point or would 181 00:16:32,650 --> 00:16:39,690 Speaker 1: they merely alter their target. Francisco Chavez and the Yellowstone 182 00:16:39,810 --> 00:16:46,410 Speaker 1: Gravedigger weren't alone in reaching elaborate solves. One searcher was 183 00:16:46,490 --> 00:16:50,370 Speaker 1: convinced that they could see the letter F engraved in 184 00:16:50,490 --> 00:16:55,210 Speaker 1: satellite images of the Rockies, confirmation that their solution to 185 00:16:55,290 --> 00:16:59,970 Speaker 1: the poem was the correct one. There was even speculation 186 00:17:00,130 --> 00:17:05,050 Speaker 1: on Reddit that decorated war hero Fen was part of 187 00:17:05,130 --> 00:17:10,090 Speaker 1: the CIA, and the whole hunt was a covert psychological 188 00:17:10,170 --> 00:17:20,050 Speaker 1: experiment forst Fenn had reminded his followers that simplicity was key, 189 00:17:21,050 --> 00:17:25,370 Speaker 1: So why did they continue to reach such outlandish conclusions? 190 00:17:26,690 --> 00:17:32,370 Speaker 1: For one thing, the poem was vague, where warm waters, halt, 191 00:17:33,250 --> 00:17:38,170 Speaker 1: and the canyon were the most general of descriptors, and 192 00:17:38,210 --> 00:17:42,330 Speaker 1: the rockies were full of snakes, bears, wild rivers, and 193 00:17:42,450 --> 00:17:48,050 Speaker 1: steep crevices, so no place for the meek could be 194 00:17:48,090 --> 00:17:54,010 Speaker 1: almost anywhere to filter through the immense set of possibilities, 195 00:17:54,530 --> 00:18:02,170 Speaker 1: searchers instinctively used mental shortcuts, but those shortcuts weren't necessarily helpful. 196 00:18:03,170 --> 00:18:07,490 Speaker 1: Medical student Jack Stouffe published a YouTube essay about the 197 00:18:07,610 --> 00:18:10,650 Speaker 1: cognitive biases observed among his fellows. 198 00:18:11,090 --> 00:18:14,850 Speaker 2: We have a tendency to find patterns in things even 199 00:18:14,890 --> 00:18:18,770 Speaker 2: where there are no real connections. We're very bad at 200 00:18:18,810 --> 00:18:23,690 Speaker 2: appreciating coincidence and the likelihood of coincidence. 201 00:18:26,610 --> 00:18:32,050 Speaker 1: Stuff was talking about confirmation bias, a tendency to focus 202 00:18:32,050 --> 00:18:36,410 Speaker 1: on information that seems to confirm our existing beliefs and 203 00:18:36,530 --> 00:18:41,050 Speaker 1: to disregard anything that contradicts them. Once you've fixed on 204 00:18:41,130 --> 00:18:47,130 Speaker 1: a place where warm waters Halt, For example, confirmation bias 205 00:18:47,370 --> 00:18:51,010 Speaker 1: might lead you to value any local connection with Brown, 206 00:18:51,970 --> 00:18:56,530 Speaker 1: even though the name is a common one. Something called 207 00:18:56,930 --> 00:19:01,170 Speaker 1: the mere exposure effect also played a role in how 208 00:19:01,370 --> 00:19:05,810 Speaker 1: searchers approach the clues. This is our tendency to prefer 209 00:19:05,970 --> 00:19:11,290 Speaker 1: what we're already familiar with. When Chris Hurst Senior first 210 00:19:11,370 --> 00:19:14,730 Speaker 1: heard Fenn's poem, he was convinced it pointed to a 211 00:19:14,770 --> 00:19:19,690 Speaker 1: place he already knew, the ghost town of Kerwin, an 212 00:19:19,730 --> 00:19:24,450 Speaker 1: abandoned mining settlement close to the Hurst family home in Wyoming. 213 00:19:25,530 --> 00:19:31,330 Speaker 1: Son Christopher used synonyms to decode the poem, translating where 214 00:19:31,490 --> 00:19:37,290 Speaker 1: warm Water's halt into Lower Sunshine Reservoir, a nearby body 215 00:19:37,330 --> 00:19:43,930 Speaker 1: of water. Searchers tended to overcook the poem in a 216 00:19:43,970 --> 00:19:49,490 Speaker 1: bias towards complexity Seattle. Sullivan was convinced that the key 217 00:19:49,610 --> 00:19:52,850 Speaker 1: to the treasure lay in a series of anagrams and 218 00:19:52,890 --> 00:19:57,090 Speaker 1: a reference to the Last Supper, but Fenn had revealed 219 00:19:57,250 --> 00:19:59,890 Speaker 1: that the poem should serve as a set of directions 220 00:20:00,370 --> 00:20:04,210 Speaker 1: that the souls was connected to his biography. He had 221 00:20:04,250 --> 00:20:08,610 Speaker 1: never mentioned any interest in biblical illusion or word games. 222 00:20:09,530 --> 00:20:14,650 Speaker 1: Fenn's poem was the mysterious generative core at the heart 223 00:20:14,690 --> 00:20:18,890 Speaker 1: of the hunt and an engine of chaos. It lent 224 00:20:18,970 --> 00:20:25,250 Speaker 1: itself to unfettered interpretation, and cognitive bias rushed in to 225 00:20:25,370 --> 00:20:34,010 Speaker 1: harness the possibilities. In July twenty seventeen, ten days after 226 00:20:34,210 --> 00:20:38,490 Speaker 1: Eric Ashby set out to retrieve the treasure, his father 227 00:20:38,610 --> 00:20:44,810 Speaker 1: received a call from an unknown number. Mister Ashby, it 228 00:20:44,890 --> 00:20:51,010 Speaker 1: was a young woman. Yes, your son is dead. He 229 00:20:51,050 --> 00:20:55,730 Speaker 1: fell out a raft and drowned, she said, then she 230 00:20:55,850 --> 00:21:00,610 Speaker 1: hung up. At first, Paul wondered if this was a 231 00:21:00,650 --> 00:21:06,210 Speaker 1: horrible prank, but as time passed he grew uneasy. He 232 00:21:06,250 --> 00:21:09,810 Speaker 1: hadn't heard from Eric for some time. His phone went 233 00:21:09,850 --> 00:21:12,730 Speaker 1: straight to voicemail, and he didn't know his son's new 234 00:21:12,810 --> 00:21:17,650 Speaker 1: friends from the restaurant. Paul rang the local sheriff's office 235 00:21:17,690 --> 00:21:23,610 Speaker 1: in Colorado. Someone had called in about a drowning, but 236 00:21:23,730 --> 00:21:28,130 Speaker 1: no one had filed a missing person's report. That was odd. 237 00:21:29,410 --> 00:21:32,970 Speaker 1: Why hadn't the friends told the authorities that Eric had vanished, 238 00:21:33,930 --> 00:21:36,770 Speaker 1: and why had they waited ten days to reach out 239 00:21:36,770 --> 00:21:42,450 Speaker 1: to his family. Eric's half sister, Lisa, began to investigate. 240 00:21:43,570 --> 00:21:47,410 Speaker 1: She drove from her home in Florida to Colorado's Springs 241 00:21:47,890 --> 00:21:54,890 Speaker 1: and retraced Eric's steps, she found her brother's car. It 242 00:21:54,970 --> 00:22:00,290 Speaker 1: was parked outside one friend's apartment. Inside the car was 243 00:22:00,330 --> 00:22:04,330 Speaker 1: his backpack, and in it were some moldy sandwiches, a 244 00:22:04,370 --> 00:22:11,210 Speaker 1: couple of cell phones, a notebook, and a contract. Lisa 245 00:22:11,330 --> 00:22:17,930 Speaker 1: scanned the crumpled handwritten document. If the group found the treasure, 246 00:22:18,970 --> 00:22:24,130 Speaker 1: Eric Ashby was to receive fifty one percent and the 247 00:22:24,170 --> 00:22:29,050 Speaker 1: others would be entitled to the remainder. The contract declared 248 00:22:29,850 --> 00:22:34,330 Speaker 1: Eric Ashby will be the executor documented of the selling 249 00:22:34,490 --> 00:22:40,690 Speaker 1: and distribution of assets regarding said quest. Lisa raced to 250 00:22:40,770 --> 00:22:45,450 Speaker 1: join the dots. Had the group killed her brother for 251 00:22:45,490 --> 00:22:50,090 Speaker 1: his share of the riches. She reported her discovery to 252 00:22:50,170 --> 00:22:59,490 Speaker 1: a Colorado Springs detective. A month later, the river returned 253 00:22:59,930 --> 00:23:05,250 Speaker 1: Eric Ashby's body. The Colorado detective was eventually able to 254 00:23:05,290 --> 00:23:09,850 Speaker 1: reconstruct what had happened to him. On the twenty eighth, 255 00:23:10,330 --> 00:23:13,890 Speaker 1: Eric had led the group to an angry, whirling stretch 256 00:23:13,930 --> 00:23:18,690 Speaker 1: of the Arkansas River known as Sunshine Falls. He was 257 00:23:18,770 --> 00:23:22,770 Speaker 1: convinced that the fen fortune lay just across the rapids, 258 00:23:23,250 --> 00:23:27,370 Speaker 1: and he needed his friend's help to cross. Eric had 259 00:23:27,410 --> 00:23:30,530 Speaker 1: tied a rope around his body and handed the other 260 00:23:30,730 --> 00:23:33,570 Speaker 1: end to his friends, asking them to hold onto it 261 00:23:33,770 --> 00:23:37,370 Speaker 1: while he traversed the river. He wasn't wearing a helmet 262 00:23:37,650 --> 00:23:40,610 Speaker 1: or a life vest, but he assured the group that 263 00:23:40,650 --> 00:23:43,850 Speaker 1: he knew what he was doing. After all, his father 264 00:23:43,930 --> 00:23:48,770 Speaker 1: had taken him rafting as a boy. As Eric careened 265 00:23:48,770 --> 00:23:52,690 Speaker 1: across the rapids, his raft began bucking at a pitcher. 266 00:23:53,570 --> 00:23:57,210 Speaker 1: He was tossed into the churn, and as his terrified 267 00:23:57,290 --> 00:24:00,690 Speaker 1: friends watched on the rope that slid from his waist, 268 00:24:01,890 --> 00:24:08,770 Speaker 1: Eric disappeared, then rose to the surface again, faced down. 269 00:24:10,370 --> 00:24:16,050 Speaker 1: He was swept away on the current. A couple of 270 00:24:16,090 --> 00:24:19,970 Speaker 1: people had witnessed the incident and called nine one one, 271 00:24:20,010 --> 00:24:25,370 Speaker 1: but Eric's group disappeared before the police arrived. They told 272 00:24:25,410 --> 00:24:28,450 Speaker 1: the detective that they didn't report Eric missing because they 273 00:24:28,450 --> 00:24:31,090 Speaker 1: didn't want to get him into trouble with the law. 274 00:24:31,290 --> 00:24:36,170 Speaker 1: Perhaps so, although it's hard to imagine what trouble they 275 00:24:36,210 --> 00:24:43,010 Speaker 1: thought a drowned man might get into, cautionary tales will 276 00:24:43,010 --> 00:24:56,490 Speaker 1: be back. Over the years. At least another three men 277 00:24:56,890 --> 00:25:01,930 Speaker 1: perished in search of Forest Fenn's treasure. Paris Wallace, a 278 00:25:02,090 --> 00:25:06,690 Speaker 1: pastor drowned and the Rio Grande, fifty three year old 279 00:25:06,770 --> 00:25:11,850 Speaker 1: Jeff Murphy plummeted down steep slope in Yellowstone National Park, 280 00:25:12,770 --> 00:25:17,370 Speaker 1: and Michael Sexson, also fifty three, froze to death in 281 00:25:17,410 --> 00:25:24,090 Speaker 1: the Mountains of Colorado. After Wallace's death, a police chief 282 00:25:24,250 --> 00:25:29,330 Speaker 1: implored Fenn to call off the hunt. Journalists probed him 283 00:25:29,370 --> 00:25:33,930 Speaker 1: on his responsibility for these deaths too, but Fenn's answer 284 00:25:34,090 --> 00:25:38,810 Speaker 1: was always the same. Nine people die at the Grand 285 00:25:38,890 --> 00:25:42,570 Speaker 1: Canyon every year, but they're not talking about shutting down 286 00:25:42,610 --> 00:25:49,130 Speaker 1: the Grand Canyon. In twenty eighteen, a man called Robert 287 00:25:49,210 --> 00:25:53,890 Speaker 1: Miller broke into Forest Fenn's property. It had flown to 288 00:25:53,970 --> 00:25:58,410 Speaker 1: New Mexico from Pennsylvania, and was apprehended trying to polloin 289 00:25:58,490 --> 00:26:04,090 Speaker 1: a wooden chest filled with linens. Fenn's family held Miller 290 00:26:04,130 --> 00:26:12,170 Speaker 1: at gunpoint until the authorities arrived. Body worn camera footage 291 00:26:12,250 --> 00:26:17,050 Speaker 1: didn't show an aggressive intruder, but instead a man who 292 00:26:17,090 --> 00:26:22,170 Speaker 1: looked baffled and sad. Miller thought the poem directed him 293 00:26:22,170 --> 00:26:25,330 Speaker 1: to Fenn's home. He said he only had one hundred 294 00:26:25,370 --> 00:26:28,450 Speaker 1: and thirty dollars in his bank account and he needed 295 00:26:28,490 --> 00:26:33,690 Speaker 1: the treasure to provide for his family. In twenty nineteen, 296 00:26:34,250 --> 00:26:39,170 Speaker 1: a searcher called David Hanson sued eighty nine year old 297 00:26:39,250 --> 00:26:43,890 Speaker 1: Fen for one point five million dollars, accusing him of 298 00:26:43,930 --> 00:26:49,530 Speaker 1: making fraudulent statements about the treasure. Fen filed a counter 299 00:26:49,730 --> 00:26:54,330 Speaker 1: claim Hanson was trying to extort him and gain information 300 00:26:54,370 --> 00:27:00,530 Speaker 1: about the chest. Hanson's lawsuit eventually evaporated, but it underlined 301 00:27:00,570 --> 00:27:05,810 Speaker 1: a growing disillusionment with the hunt and with its creator. 302 00:27:07,810 --> 00:27:12,490 Speaker 1: Women started coming forward alleging that Fenn had behaved inappropriately 303 00:27:12,530 --> 00:27:19,530 Speaker 1: with them, requesting nude photographs. Fenn denied everything. These searchers 304 00:27:19,570 --> 00:27:22,610 Speaker 1: were angry because he wouldn't reveal the location of the treasure, 305 00:27:22,770 --> 00:27:29,170 Speaker 1: he said. The stalker, Francisco Chaves, also returned. He was arrested, 306 00:27:29,290 --> 00:27:37,490 Speaker 1: but Fenn was understandably disturbed. Journalist Daniel Barbarisi asked Fenn 307 00:27:38,330 --> 00:27:43,170 Speaker 1: had it all been worth it? He replied, knowing everything 308 00:27:43,170 --> 00:27:50,250 Speaker 1: I know now, I wouldn't do it again. In June 309 00:27:50,330 --> 00:27:56,130 Speaker 1: twenty twenty, a decade into the hunt Forrest, Fenn posted 310 00:27:56,250 --> 00:28:01,130 Speaker 1: on his website it was under the canopy of stars 311 00:28:01,970 --> 00:28:04,930 Speaker 1: and had not moved from the spot where I hid 312 00:28:04,970 --> 00:28:10,530 Speaker 1: it more than ten years ago. He wrote, someone had 313 00:28:10,610 --> 00:28:15,770 Speaker 1: found the treasure. I congratulate the thousands of people who 314 00:28:15,810 --> 00:28:19,570 Speaker 1: participated in the search and hope they will continue to 315 00:28:19,610 --> 00:28:26,410 Speaker 1: be drawn by the promise of other discoveries. Just like that, 316 00:28:26,450 --> 00:28:31,130 Speaker 1: the hunt had come to an end. Forrest kept the 317 00:28:31,210 --> 00:28:36,050 Speaker 1: finder's identity a secret at their request, and while he 318 00:28:36,130 --> 00:28:39,450 Speaker 1: revealed that the chest had been hidden in Wyoming, he 319 00:28:39,530 --> 00:28:45,690 Speaker 1: refused to disclose its precise location. The searchers were shocked 320 00:28:46,490 --> 00:28:50,970 Speaker 1: and grief stricken. It was all over? Or was it? 321 00:28:52,090 --> 00:28:58,970 Speaker 1: Suspicion set in. Fen didn't offer any proof why. Maybe 322 00:28:59,010 --> 00:29:03,450 Speaker 1: he was lying. Maybe ninety years old and approaching death, 323 00:29:04,130 --> 00:29:07,570 Speaker 1: he had taken the treasure back. Some wondered if it 324 00:29:07,730 --> 00:29:10,290 Speaker 1: ever really hidden the tree measure in the first place. 325 00:29:10,730 --> 00:29:15,010 Speaker 1: Perhaps it had all been a ruse for attention. I 326 00:29:15,090 --> 00:29:18,450 Speaker 1: don't think he realized the stink it would cause, said 327 00:29:18,530 --> 00:29:25,810 Speaker 1: Cynthia Meetcham. Fenn had spent his life persuading people to believe, 328 00:29:26,330 --> 00:29:30,650 Speaker 1: to follow, to trust and trust. They did because they 329 00:29:30,890 --> 00:29:37,890 Speaker 1: liked the story he told. But ultimately that trust proved fragile, 330 00:29:38,610 --> 00:29:45,450 Speaker 1: and when the story ended in disappointment, it shattered. In 331 00:29:45,490 --> 00:29:52,410 Speaker 1: the midst of all this outcry forst Fenn collapsed. It 332 00:29:52,530 --> 00:29:57,290 Speaker 1: was September seventh, twenty twenty. He was rushed to hospital, 333 00:29:58,490 --> 00:30:04,290 Speaker 1: but he never regained consciousness. The Treasure Hunt Mastermind had 334 00:30:04,370 --> 00:30:10,490 Speaker 1: secured his legacy, but he had left behind gaps and silences. 335 00:30:11,890 --> 00:30:15,570 Speaker 1: The searchers felt they'd been robbed of closure, even as 336 00:30:15,570 --> 00:30:21,730 Speaker 1: they mourned him. As in life, so in death, Forest 337 00:30:21,850 --> 00:30:30,050 Speaker 1: Fenn remained elusive. In the days that followed Fenn's death, 338 00:30:30,490 --> 00:30:36,010 Speaker 1: an anonymous eulogy appeared on the website medium. It claimed 339 00:30:36,090 --> 00:30:40,450 Speaker 1: to be written by the successful treasure Hunter. They revealed 340 00:30:40,530 --> 00:30:43,810 Speaker 1: little about who they were, disclosing only that they were 341 00:30:43,810 --> 00:30:48,210 Speaker 1: a millennial with student loans to pay off. They wrote 342 00:30:48,250 --> 00:30:53,850 Speaker 1: instead of Fen's immense generosity and of his ambiguous relationship 343 00:30:53,970 --> 00:30:57,290 Speaker 1: with the ending of the Treasure Hunt, I could tell 344 00:30:57,330 --> 00:31:01,970 Speaker 1: there was some eagerness in finally sharing this secret with someone, 345 00:31:02,130 --> 00:31:08,210 Speaker 1: but there was also melancholy. The Finder described too, how 346 00:31:08,330 --> 00:31:12,130 Speaker 1: their self belief had been shattered in the years before 347 00:31:12,170 --> 00:31:15,730 Speaker 1: they began their search, and the role this had played 348 00:31:15,770 --> 00:31:20,250 Speaker 1: in their approach to the treasure Hunt. Without any self 349 00:31:20,330 --> 00:31:23,530 Speaker 1: confidence in my abilities, I had to stick to the 350 00:31:23,610 --> 00:31:28,410 Speaker 1: evidence and not stray into speculation and its close cousin 351 00:31:28,890 --> 00:31:36,330 Speaker 1: confirmation bias. The comments poured in. Some searchers were thrilled 352 00:31:36,370 --> 00:31:42,810 Speaker 1: for the finder, offering their heartfelt congratulations. Others were wary, 353 00:31:43,850 --> 00:31:49,410 Speaker 1: even outraged. Sorry, but you didn't find anything, said one commenter. 354 00:31:50,170 --> 00:31:53,850 Speaker 1: I found every hint and clue there was. I'm calling 355 00:31:53,890 --> 00:31:59,090 Speaker 1: you out. As time passed and there were no more answers, 356 00:31:59,650 --> 00:32:05,090 Speaker 1: the outrage swelled. An attorney called Barbara Anderson filed a 357 00:32:05,170 --> 00:32:09,250 Speaker 1: lawsuit against the Finder, alleging that they'd hacked into her 358 00:32:09,250 --> 00:32:15,570 Speaker 1: phone and stolen her solve. Realizing that Anderson's lawsuit would 359 00:32:15,570 --> 00:32:19,170 Speaker 1: make their name a matter of public record, the Finder 360 00:32:19,250 --> 00:32:23,930 Speaker 1: decided to come forward on their own terms. In December 361 00:32:24,050 --> 00:32:32,410 Speaker 1: twenty twenty, another article appeared on Medium. My name, wrote 362 00:32:32,450 --> 00:32:38,130 Speaker 1: the finder is Jack Stouff. I now own the treasure Chest. 363 00:32:40,810 --> 00:32:43,930 Speaker 1: Thirty two year old Jack Stouffe was a medical student. 364 00:32:44,730 --> 00:32:47,650 Speaker 1: He was the searcher who'd posted a YouTube essay on 365 00:32:47,890 --> 00:32:52,890 Speaker 1: cognitive bias in the hunt tendency to For six months, 366 00:32:52,930 --> 00:32:56,370 Speaker 1: he had remained anonymous, not because he had anything to hide, 367 00:32:56,450 --> 00:33:00,890 Speaker 1: he said, but to protect his family's safety as well 368 00:33:00,890 --> 00:33:06,730 Speaker 1: as his own. Jack had carefully studied friend's biography, and 369 00:33:06,770 --> 00:33:10,450 Speaker 1: in twenty eighteen he'd homed in on a broad area 370 00:33:10,530 --> 00:33:14,850 Speaker 1: of significance to the art dealer. He believed that this 371 00:33:15,010 --> 00:33:18,450 Speaker 1: was where Fenn had wished to die when he had 372 00:33:18,490 --> 00:33:21,130 Speaker 1: planned to take his own life all those years ago. 373 00:33:22,130 --> 00:33:25,970 Speaker 1: After that, it took Jack some time to narrow his 374 00:33:26,010 --> 00:33:32,090 Speaker 1: search further. In the summer of twenty twenty, his search 375 00:33:32,330 --> 00:33:37,290 Speaker 1: came to an end. There it was the legendary lock box, 376 00:33:38,090 --> 00:33:43,130 Speaker 1: coated in dirt and pine needles. After so many years 377 00:33:43,290 --> 00:33:49,490 Speaker 1: in the wilderness, Jack was stunned, but he managed to 378 00:33:49,530 --> 00:33:53,330 Speaker 1: wrap the treasure in a blue Ikea bag, place it 379 00:33:53,370 --> 00:33:59,210 Speaker 1: inside his backpack, and carry it from the woods back 380 00:33:59,250 --> 00:34:05,610 Speaker 1: in his car. He began to sob and then laugh. 381 00:34:07,370 --> 00:34:12,730 Speaker 1: The hunt had been the most straiting experience of his life. 382 00:34:12,850 --> 00:34:18,210 Speaker 1: At times he thought it would torment him forever. Jack 383 00:34:18,330 --> 00:34:21,530 Speaker 1: set off on the long drive to New Mexico, where 384 00:34:21,570 --> 00:34:25,770 Speaker 1: he planned to visit Fenn. On the way, he spent 385 00:34:25,810 --> 00:34:29,210 Speaker 1: the night in a hotel where he unwrapped the treasure 386 00:34:29,490 --> 00:34:33,850 Speaker 1: and cleaned it. When he had finished, the hotel towels 387 00:34:33,890 --> 00:34:36,930 Speaker 1: were brown with dirt, and he made a mental note 388 00:34:37,090 --> 00:34:43,130 Speaker 1: to leave the staff a decent tip. Surveying his gold coins, 389 00:34:44,090 --> 00:34:50,090 Speaker 1: precious gems, and ancient artifacts, Jack was awe struck by 390 00:34:50,130 --> 00:34:54,730 Speaker 1: his tiny place in the sweep of human history, and 391 00:34:54,810 --> 00:34:58,250 Speaker 1: he felt he understood a little more about what made 392 00:34:58,530 --> 00:35:05,250 Speaker 1: Forest Fenn tick Jack Stuff has remained silent on the 393 00:35:05,290 --> 00:35:09,610 Speaker 1: location of the treasure. It's a special place, he says, 394 00:35:10,530 --> 00:35:13,770 Speaker 1: and he doesn't want it to be trampled by treasure tourists. 395 00:35:14,970 --> 00:35:20,570 Speaker 1: But another searcher, Justin Posey, believes he's matched location to 396 00:35:20,650 --> 00:35:25,210 Speaker 1: the photo that Jack published. It's in the woods close 397 00:35:25,290 --> 00:35:32,290 Speaker 1: to Madison River in Wyoming, where warm water's halt. Forest 398 00:35:32,330 --> 00:35:36,930 Speaker 1: Fenn spent blissful summers here as a boy, fishing for 399 00:35:37,130 --> 00:35:43,130 Speaker 1: brown trout in fast flowing streams. The home of brown 400 00:35:48,290 --> 00:35:52,690 Speaker 1: Two young men went in search of fens famed treasure chest. 401 00:35:53,770 --> 00:35:58,970 Speaker 1: The quest helped them find purpose. But while Jack Stouff 402 00:35:59,130 --> 00:36:04,610 Speaker 1: became a treasure hunting legend, Eric Ashby drowned alone in 403 00:36:04,650 --> 00:36:10,930 Speaker 1: the Arkansas River, abandoned by his friends. The treasure hunt 404 00:36:11,130 --> 00:36:14,850 Speaker 1: was intended to help people. The puzzle would serve as 405 00:36:14,890 --> 00:36:19,810 Speaker 1: a morale booster, Fenn reasoned, but the hunt was in 406 00:36:19,850 --> 00:36:25,210 Speaker 1: its way also cruel, and it became a source of obsession. 407 00:36:27,370 --> 00:36:32,210 Speaker 1: Paul Ashby initially blamed Fenn for his son Eric's death, 408 00:36:33,690 --> 00:36:37,050 Speaker 1: but eventually he made his peace with the old man, 409 00:36:37,930 --> 00:36:41,610 Speaker 1: and he campaigned to make sure that by law, no 410 00:36:41,650 --> 00:36:45,650 Speaker 1: one in Colorado or Tennessee could walk away when a 411 00:36:45,690 --> 00:36:52,170 Speaker 1: life was in danger. Barbara Anderson and David Hanson, who 412 00:36:52,210 --> 00:36:57,530 Speaker 1: both took legal action against Fenn, were unsuccessful in their lawsuits. 413 00:36:58,650 --> 00:37:01,690 Speaker 1: They seemingly grew so attached to the fortune that they 414 00:37:01,730 --> 00:37:05,490 Speaker 1: believed it was rightfully theirs, even though they hadn't laid 415 00:37:05,530 --> 00:37:09,930 Speaker 1: their hands on it. Some searchers wondered if Jack Stuff 416 00:37:10,130 --> 00:37:14,610 Speaker 1: was even real, and when Fenn's family confirmed his identity, 417 00:37:15,450 --> 00:37:19,810 Speaker 1: they surmised that they were in on the hoax. Others 418 00:37:20,050 --> 00:37:26,210 Speaker 1: still were simply disappointed, but when their grief abated, they 419 00:37:26,210 --> 00:37:31,290 Speaker 1: were also grateful. Forest Fenn gave me the best eight 420 00:37:31,490 --> 00:37:37,650 Speaker 1: years of my life, said Cynthia Meecham. Father and sons. 421 00:37:37,730 --> 00:37:41,450 Speaker 1: The Hearsts were devastated when they failed to find the treasure, 422 00:37:42,530 --> 00:37:45,730 Speaker 1: but they later reflected that the quest had brought them together. 423 00:37:47,090 --> 00:37:51,410 Speaker 1: The treasure is where you find it, said Christopher. I've 424 00:37:51,410 --> 00:37:54,730 Speaker 1: got my family right here next to me. We're all alive. 425 00:37:56,050 --> 00:38:03,850 Speaker 1: My treasure is my family. In twenty twenty two, Jack 426 00:38:03,930 --> 00:38:08,330 Speaker 1: Stuff sold the Fen Treasure at auction for roughly one 427 00:38:08,490 --> 00:38:13,690 Speaker 1: point three million dollars. I no longer own any part 428 00:38:13,730 --> 00:38:17,770 Speaker 1: of the treasure and have no financial interest in its 429 00:38:17,810 --> 00:38:24,210 Speaker 1: future on the collectible's market, he declared. Two years later, 430 00:38:24,850 --> 00:38:29,490 Speaker 1: an adventure lover called John Collins Black announced his own 431 00:38:29,650 --> 00:38:35,490 Speaker 1: treasure hunt. He's hidden five boxes across the United States. 432 00:38:36,570 --> 00:38:42,090 Speaker 1: They contain gold and other precious metals, shipwreck bounty, rare, 433 00:38:42,170 --> 00:38:48,850 Speaker 1: Pokemon cards, bitcoin, and some of Forrest Fens original treasure. 434 00:38:50,370 --> 00:38:57,090 Speaker 1: The hunt is once more afoot. Treasure it seems, never 435 00:38:57,170 --> 00:39:13,050 Speaker 1: stays put for long. Daniel Barbarisi is the author of 436 00:39:13,490 --> 00:39:19,410 Speaker 1: Chasing the Thrill, Obsession, Death and Glory in America's Most 437 00:39:19,450 --> 00:39:24,930 Speaker 1: Extraordinary Treasure Hunt, published in twenty twenty one. This episode 438 00:39:24,970 --> 00:39:29,050 Speaker 1: also relied on David Kushner's twenty eighteen article for Wired, 439 00:39:29,770 --> 00:39:34,770 Speaker 1: A Deadly Hunt for Hidden Treasure Spawns and Online Mystery. 440 00:39:35,210 --> 00:39:37,890 Speaker 1: For a full list of sources, see the show notes 441 00:39:37,930 --> 00:39:43,370 Speaker 1: at Timharford dot com. Cautionary Tales is written by me 442 00:39:43,610 --> 00:39:47,210 Speaker 1: Tim Harford with Andrew Wright, Alice Fines, and Ryan Dilly. 443 00:39:47,690 --> 00:39:51,530 Speaker 1: It's produced by Georgia Mills and Marilyn Rust. The sound 444 00:39:51,530 --> 00:39:54,890 Speaker 1: design and original music are the work of Pascal Wise. 445 00:39:55,290 --> 00:40:00,730 Speaker 1: Additional sound design is by Dan Jackson Bender. DAPFH. Haffrey 446 00:40:00,930 --> 00:40:04,930 Speaker 1: edited the scripts. The show also wouldn't have been possible 447 00:40:04,970 --> 00:40:09,650 Speaker 1: without the work of Jacob Weisberg, Greta Cohne, Sarah Nix, Axandler, 448 00:40:09,850 --> 00:40:14,530 Speaker 1: Christina Sullivan, Kira Posey, and Owen Miller. You can support 449 00:40:14,570 --> 00:40:18,970 Speaker 1: Cautionary Tales by joining My Cautionary Club at Patreon dot 450 00:40:19,010 --> 00:40:24,650 Speaker 1: com slash Cautionary Club for exclusive bonus episodes, newsletters, ad 451 00:40:24,690 --> 00:40:28,890 Speaker 1: free listening, and other exciting perks. Alternatively, you can join 452 00:40:28,970 --> 00:40:32,690 Speaker 1: Pushkin Plus on our Apple show page for continued benefits 453 00:40:32,690 --> 00:40:35,450 Speaker 1: from our show and others across the Pushkin network.