Treasure Chest Containing $1 Million Worth Of Gold And Jewels Found After Decade-Long Hunt In The Rocky Mountains

A treasure chest worth $1 million dollars has finally been found in the Rocky Mountains.

The elusive prize was hidden by eccentric art dealer Forrest Fenn in 2010, drawing in thousands of cash hungry treasure hunters.

At least five men have lost their lives on the hunt through the Rockies. However the chest, which is filled with rare coins, nuggets of gold, antique jewellery and much more, has now been found.

The 89-year-old has opted not to reveal the exact location where the treasure was found, though he released a statement on his website saying it had not moved from the spot where it was hidden 10 years ago.

‘It was under a canopy of stars in the lush, forested vegetation of the Rocky Mountains and had not moved from the spot where I hid it more than 10 years ago,’ he wrote.

‘I do not know the person who found it, but the poem in my book led him to the precise spot.’

When asked how he felt about the fact the treasure has now been tracked down, Fenn said:

I don’t know, I feel halfway kind of glad, halfway kind of sad because the chase is over.

I congratulate the thousands of people who participated in the search and hope they will continue to be drawn by the promise of other discoveries.

Fenn announced the treasure hunt in the form of a 24-line poem titled The Thrill of the Chase, which was published in his 2010 book. However, he first came up with the idea after being given a 20% chance to live following a cancer diagnosis in 1988.

The poem included hints such as ‘warm waters halt’, ‘the blaze’ and ‘canyon down’, which have all led treasure seekers to different parts of the mountains across Colorado, New Mexico, Montana and Wyoming.

Thousands have headed toward the Rockies in a bid to find the treasure, with many spending life savings and even giving up their jobs at the promise of becoming millionaires if they find the prize.

Sadly, at least five people lost their lives while attempting to locate the chest, the most recent being 53-year-old Michael Sexson, who died in March of this year. In 2016 Randy Bilyeu died after hunting for the gold, while Jeff Murphy, Pastor Paris Wallice and Eric Ashby all died during a search in 2017.

Fenn wanted to lure people to the Rockies as part of an old-fashioned expedition for riches in the wilderness, despite calls from New Mexico Police to call off the hunt, which they branded ‘nonsense and insanity’.

Now, the search is finally over and one lucky treasure hunter is $1 million richer.