Where The Treasure Lies

In early June of 2020, Forrest Fenn announced that the treasure had been found. However, like everything else with the Fenn treasure, not all is at it seems. We investigate the reports of the "recovered" treasure and what it all means for the legacy of this mystery.

On June 7th, 2020 Forrest Fenn announced that the treasure hunt was over because it has been solved. He has not provided any evidence to validate this, so we're investigating as currently we only have his word to go on.

We sit down with a man who is so certain that he’s solved Fenn’s poem, he recently published a book divulging the answer. We also meet with a professional treasure hunter (the kind who gets sent to recover historical treasures sunk long ago) to measure the validity of Fenn’s claims. Finally, we evaluate all the professional, pseudo-professional, and obsessive “searcher” theories about Fenn and where his treasure may lie.

Four men have died looking for Forrest Fenn’s alleged treasure. In this episode we investigate their deaths and their aftermath. We also explore the psychology of Forrest Fenn.

We head to the annual convention of Forrest Fenn fanatics in Santa Fe, New Mexico to understand what it takes to be a true “searcher”.

In 2009, Forrest Fenn’s home was raided by the FBI in connection to his possession of Native American artifacts. This was less than one year prior to the date that Fenn claims he buried the treasure. 

We want to know why Fenn was investigated and what this could tell us about Fenn. Is he honest? Is he a tomb raider? What is Forrest Fenn’s angle? What does his past as an art dealer mean for the existence treasure?

During his time in the Air Force, Fenn was shot down over Vietnam. How did this trauma (combined with his other experiences during the Vietnam War) affect him? Did his time in the military help to shape Fenn into the real life riddler that he is today? In this episode we chronicle Fenn’s life and investigate and what may have led him to creating this modern day quixotic quest. We need to understand where Fenn came from to ultimately comprehend the inner machinations of his mind.

Former art gallery owner and Vietnam war veteran Forrest Fenn claims to have buried a two million dollar treasure somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. The only clue to the treasure’s location is a cryptic eight stanza poem that supposedly reveals its location.

Why have 65,000 people gone searching for an unconfirmed buried treasure at the word of a strange old man? Four men have even died in the process. How did this minor phenomenon come to be? Many have searched for the treasure, and no one has found it. Is Fenn a charlatan, or a philanthropist seeking to inspire people to get outside, or something entirely different?

While thousands search unsuccessfully for the treasure, we search for the truth of Forrest Fenn. If we figure out who Fenn is, we can understand if the treasure even exists and maybe even where he hid it.

Somewhere between 65,000 and 300.000 people have gone searching for a hidden treasure buried by former art gallery owner and Vietnam war veteran Forrest Fenn, but no one can even verify if the treasure exists “Where The Treasure Lies” is a limited series podcast that investigates if Forrest Fenn is a charlatan, a philanthropist seeking to inspire people to get outside, or something entirely different.