The Forest Fenn Treasure is no myth.
Forest Fenn, an art dealer from New Mexico, said he hid a treasure of gold and jewels somewhere in the northwest United States in the Rocky Mountains in 2010. He published a biography that contained clues to its whereabouts and in June of 2020, a medical student from Michigan solved the puzzle and found the treasure.
Fenn confirmed the man was correct. Fenn died in September of 2020 and now the search has become an obsession for many again.
But for a Utah man, the obsession could lead to jail.
Rodrick Dow Craythorn, 52, pleaded guilty on January 4 to charges of excavating or trafficking in archeological resources, and injury or depredation to United States property, and faces up to 12 years in jail, according to CNN.
Prosecutors say Craythorn was found digging in the historic Fort Yellowstone Cemetery between October 1, 2019, and May 24, 2020, in hopes of finding the treasure.
CNN could not reach Craythorn and his attorney would not comment on the case.
The cemetery houses more than 35 graves that date between 1888 and 1957, most of them for soldiers, civilian employees of the Army and relatives of the military.
"The hunt for the Forrest Fenn treasure was often viewed as a harmless diversion, but in this case it led to substantial damage to important public resources," US Attorney Mark Klaassen said in a statement. "The Defendant let his quest for discovery override respect for the law."
People from all over the world have searched for the treasure and at least two people have died trying to find it.
Craythorn faces sentencing on March 17 in Casper, Wyoming.
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