treasure hunt for quirky trader’s hidden gold plays on in new mexico - blue and gold jewelry

SANTA FE, N. M.
-For more than ten years, he packed up his treasure chest, sprinkled with gold dust, and added hundreds of rare gold coins and gold nuggets. Pre-
Columbia's animal image is accompanied by a prehistoric "mirror" of hammered gold, ancient Chinese faces carved with Jade, and antique jewelry carved with rubies and emeralds.
Forrest Finn is creating a bounty, and dealers of art and antiquities say his goal is to make sure it "has enough value to attract searchers and is clearly awesome.
"Occasionally, he will test the premise, pull the box out and ask his friend to open the lid.
"Most of the time, when they first saw it," he said, "they started laughing," and there was little understanding of his amazing plan.
Will Fenn really give this glittering treasure house to people?
Three years ago, he put his favorite two pieces of jewelry on his chest: one is a turquoise bracelet and the other is a Thai and Sinu Indian necklace decorated with exotic jewelry
He put a detailed autobiography on the bottom of the box, in an olive jar, printed so small that the reader needed a magnifying glass.
After that, he said that he carried the loot box now weighing more than 40 pounds into the mountain area north of Santa Fe and left it there. Next, Fenn self-
Published a memoir, the thrill of chasing, refined the autobiography, and interestingly, it included a poem that he said provided clues to guide some wise people-or lucky --
Bounty treasure hunter
Not long after, the News of the hidden treasure came out, and the propaganda led to a mini
Gold rush in northern New Mexico.
But it also sparked a debate: Is Finn really hiding the treasure chest for special publicity? loving 82-year-
The old man who likes to tell stories, just another way to have fun, is a great captain who consolidates his legacy?
A friend of the author, former Santa Fe County Sheriff's deputy, Michael McGarrity, admitted that it could be a "private joke", although he thought "blessing"
"Well, if this is the treasure he sees," it's really a surprising sight.
"Of course, there does not seem to be a shortage of believers, including Doug Preston, and his novel, copy, tells the story of a notorious treasure seeker and tomb thief who buried himself and his treasure, as a final challenge to his three sons, the novel loosely
"I have seen the treasure.
I already dealt with it.
He had already eaten when I knew him. It's real.
"I can tell you that it is no longer in his vault," Preston said . ".
"I'm 100% sure he actually went out and hid this thing.
I am really surprised that anyone who knows him will think he is blowing hot air.
This is not his personality.
He is not a cunning, conspiracy, cunning, or dishonest person at all.
Finn says his main goal is to keep people, especially children, away from their texting devices and looking for adventure outdoors.
But it may be that few people like the whole adventure more than Fenn himself, a self
Describes schmoozer and endless flirters who are fascinated by what he says is 13,000 emails from treasure seekers ---
Not to mention 18 pieces of riage proposal.
"His net worth is much higher than what he put into the Bounty," Preston said . " He guessed that the treasure was worth millions. dollar range.
"He has more than $1 million in fun. " ------
It all started more than 20 years ago when he was diagnosed with cancer and only lived for a few years, Fenn said.
It was then that he decided to buy the treasure chest and fill it up with some of his favorite things.
"No one knows where it will be except me," he recalls.
He revised the thread.
The wording of the poem has changed many times over the years, and other changes have taken place in his plan.
There was a time when he wanted to put his bones together with the treasure chest, although it was not clear how that might have been achieved.
"But," said Finn, flashing naughty light in his blue eyes, "I ruined the story because I was ill.
In the thrill of chasing, he shows his unusual rags --to-
Share the Wealth story of his favorite adventures and prank memories-making.
From the very beginning, the book tells the reader how true the memory is to history, just as one can average the fact that considering one of my natural instincts is retouching.
"Average the truth?
Beautification instinct?
One thing is certain: Of course he knows how to tell a story.
According to the book, Finn grew up in Temple, Texas, and his father was a school principal.
He said the family is poor and only eats meat if there is a chicken to kill on Sunday.
But Finn wrote that they spend every summer at Yellowstone National Park, where young Forrest and his brother Skippy launched many adventures.
He described the brothers who tried to fly a homemade plane and told the story of being left on the side of the road after a quarrel during a road trip.
The book says Finn has never been to college, and although he did attend classes with his friends at Texas A & M for a while, before finding out he was not a registered student.
He married high school lover Peggy Jean Proctor and spent nearly 20 years in the air force, including
Service as a fighter pilot in Vietnam.
After returning to Texas, he moved to Santa Fe with his wife and two daughters, and over time he became one of the most famous and successful gallery owners in this art enclave.
Details about how a person without an artistic background can make such a dramatic but successful transition are rare in his book.
When asked to elaborate, he simply said, "I have never been to college.
I have never been to business school.
I have never learned the rules of letting businesses fail.
"People who know him believe in his love for people.
As an art dealer, he hosted a wealthy and famous virtual man in his gallery and hostel, including Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Sam Sheppard, to give a few examples.
Friends said that even at the age of 82, he still held a big party to mix the guest list with many actors and artists, writers and political leaders live in the mountains of the art or often there.
Maybe the biggest misconception about Fenn. -
Some locals call it the Indiana Jones of Santa Fe. -
He's a treasure hunter himself.
"Forrest is a businessman," said Dan Nietzel, a professional treasure hunt expert looking for Finn's treasure.
He exchanged these things.
I think people think he is digging these things all over the place.
"But Finn has been looking for something invisible all his life.
"I like mysterious things.
"I like to take risks," he said . "
When he was in his teens, he went to Yellowstone every summer. according to his memoir, when his friend Donnie Joe got lost riding in the garatine State Forest in Montana, when he tried to trace the steps of Lewis and Clark, he almost led them
"Donnie got into a serious spat and didn't talk to me for the time being, except to say that our unfortunate adventure was sick --
Idea, stupid thought, I'm done.
"Like my horse," he wrote . ".
His book continues to tell about the Vietnam War, describing his air force services, combat missions, and even his survival after being shot down.
While it is sometimes difficult to know if Fen's enthusiasm for "ornament" will add to his story, the military's record highlights the chapter.
They confirmed that, as a fighter pilot, he received outstanding Flying Cross, Air Medal, Silver and Bronze Medal, Purple Heart medal and other medals.
The record shows that during a battle, the enemy's fire broke his aircraft hatch and cut his face, but he continued to attack.
On the other hand, he showed "outstanding heroism," and before the wounded troops on the ground were able to be rescued, he fired many low-level fire-sweeping passages.
He was promoted to major.
Finn also called himself an amateur archaeologist. In the mid-
1980, he bought a ranch near Santa Fe, including 57-
Akrigu Pueblo of St. Lazaro, where he spent several years digging through the bones, pottery and other artifacts he kept in his room outside the garage.
Although he said he made money selling paintings, his love was obviously ancient.
His private study is for 17-by-28-
Foot Persian carpet at the end of 1800, full of valuables from floor to ceiling, from the front of gold plated
The fringe book of war memorabilia, the brandy bottle left by Kennedy Onassis at his hostel, and even what he said was sitting in the bull's pipe.
As part of an investigation into the theft of antiquities, the FBI searched his home on 2006, but Fen was never charged. ------
"From the warm waters, take it to the Canyon, not far, but go too far.
Under Brown's house.
"This is part of the poem" The location clue of the treasure ", which Finn published three years ago in his memoir.
The news report caused a stir in this book.
According to Fenn, who has received more than 9,000 emails over the past few months, he estimates that thousands of treasure seekers will come to northern New Mexico this spring.
Dana Ortega, director of sales and marketing at the Santa Fe Loreto spa hotel, said the hotel, which offers a special package starting at $300, including a hard copy of Fenn's currentto-
Looking for books has seen a sharp surge in interest.
"About 50 people participated in the program last year," she said . ".
"Now our phone keeps ringing. . . .
A lot of people have this book so they don't all make packages but they call and want to stay here.
"The local Chamber of Commerce should give Forrest an award to increase tourism," said his friend McGarrity . ".
He said he was stopped in the street by a man driving a big truck with a Texas license plate and pulled a whole car.
Ask him if he knows where Forrest Finn lives.
"Are you on a treasure hunt?
Asked mcgaretti. "You betcha!
Said the Texans.
But the propaganda has also raised security concerns.
A few weeks ago, a woman from Texas was attracted by a web report about the treasure and lost her way on a mountain near Los Alamos.
She spent the night in the rugged terrain of the Bandier National Monument, and the next day when rescuers found her, she was walking out.
But the case prompted officials to warn searchers to be fully prepared for outdoor activities.
They also remind the public that it is illegal to dig, bury items or use metal detectors on federal land.
Equally worrying: Fenn said he asked people to ring the doorbell at his door and tried to follow him as he left.
However, to a large extent, he said that the person who came into contact with him only tried to persuade or deceive him to provide more clues.
The best thing that seems to get from him so far is that the treasure is more than 300 miles west of Toledo, not in Nevada, in the Rocky Mountains, at an altitude of more than 5,000 feet. (
Santa Fe is the starting point of the Rocky Mountains, and its Mount Santa Gladys is 7,260 feet above sea level. )
But he emphasized two things: he never said that the treasure was buried or that it was in Santa Fe or even New Mexico.
Nietzel said that the most common spot for clues about "warm waters stop" is the eagle Chaohu Lake, about 100 miles north of Santa Fe, because it has a dam that can block the warm water, it is famous for its brown trout.
Others are definitely at Yellowstone because of Finn's history there and his deep understanding of the park.
Nietzel said that he has searched 29 treasures in six states and he plans to resume his efforts when the mountains are warming.
Mark Howard, another friend of Fenn, Santa Fe jeweler, said he has searched about 20 times and "is still trying to bring my wisdom to a poem that seems impossible
"This plan is similar to the treasure hunt launched by the author of the British children's book" masquerade "in 1979, which has 18-
The carat jewelry golden rabbit hidden somewhere in England.
The rabbit was discovered in 1982, although it was later discovered with the help of the author's previous life. in girlfriend.
Finn and his wife, who live in a manor with a gate near the city center, insist that he is the only one who knows where his treasure is hidden.
When asked what his two daughters, Kelly and Zoe, thought of him concealing their legacy with their seven children, he only replied, "they have said that I have been crazy for many years.
"He wondered if they were interested in finding it, but he said he wouldn't be surprised if one of the two grandchildren went to look for it.
He was conflicted about whether the chest was soon discovered, even in his lifetime.
But "when a person finds that treasure chest, they will be shocked whether tomorrow or 10,000 years later to open the lid.
This is the scene.