Utah man, 52, who spent eight months digging in Yellowstone Park cemetery in failed bid to find Forrest Fenn's treasure now faces 12 years in prison and $270,000 in fines
A Utah man has pleaded guilty to damaging federal property after being caught digging in a Yellowstone National Park cemetery in search of Forrest Fenn's hidden treasure.
Rodrick Dow Craythorn, 52, of Syracuse, Utah, entered the plea Monday in US District Court in Casper to illegally excavating or trafficking in archaeological resources and to damaging federal property.
He could face up to 12 years in prison and $270,000 in fines when sentenced March 17.
Craythorn was searching for a treasure chest containing coins, gold and other valuables left in the backcountry a decade ago by Santa Fe, New Mexico, art and antiquities dealer Fenn.
In 2010, Fenn published a collection of short stories in which he wrote that he had hidden a chest with gold nuggets, rare coins, jewelry and gemstones 'in the mountains somewhere north of Santa Fe'.
Fenn died at age 90 in September, three months after announcing the treasure had been found.
Scroll down for video
Rodrick Dow Craythorn, 52, of Syracuse, Utah, entered the plea Monday in US District Court in Casper to illegally excavating or trafficking in archaeological resources and to damaging federal property. Craythorn was digging for the treasure at a cemetery at the park
Craythorn could face up to 12 years in prison and $270,000 in fines when sentenced on March 17. Craythorn was searching for a treasure chest containing coins, gold and other valuables left in the backcountry by Santa Fe, New Mexico, art and antiquities dealer Forrest Fenn
In search of the treasure , Craythorn caused more than $1,000 in damage by digging in the Fort Yellowstone Cemetery between October 1, 2019, and May 24, 2020, prosecutors said
Craythorn caused more than $1,000 in damage by digging in the Fort Yellowstone Cemetery between October 1, 2019, and May 24, 2020, prosecutors said.
'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,' Wyoming US Attorney Mark Klaassen said Tuesday.
Craythorn's attorney, Christopher Humphrey of Cheyenne, didn't immediately return a phone message Tuesday seeking comment.
Fenn said the stories in his book contained clues about the chest's location including nine clues in the poem found in the chapter titled 'Gold and More.'
A treasure hunt was sparked through several states with thousands searching in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.
At least five people have died looking for the treasure, including Jeff Murphy, of Illinois, who died in June 2017 after falling about 500 feet down a steep slope at Yellowstone.
Another man, Eric Ashby, of Colorado, was found dead in Colorado's Arkansas River in July 2017 after rafting on the river upstream.
In 2010, Fenn (pictured in 2013) published a collection of short stories in which he wrote that he had hidden a chest with gold nuggets, rare coins, jewelry and gemstones 'in the mountains somewhere north of Santa Fe'. He died on September 7, 2020, at the age of 90
Jonathan Stuef, a 32-year-old medical student from Michigan identified himself as the finder of Fenn's treasure
In January 2020, David Christensen of Indiana had to be rescued from Yellowstone's Grand Canyon after he attempted to rappel over 850 feet.
In June, Fenn announced that the treasure had been found in Wyoming.
A grandson of Fenn confirmed in December the finder was Jonathan 'Jack' Stuef, 32, a medical student from Michigan.
Fenn for years hinted the treasure, estimated to be worth at least $1million, was north of Santa Fe in the Rocky Mountains of either New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming or Montana.
But Stuef said the treasure is worth up to $3million - in an article published in Outside magazine last month.
Stuef's hand was reportedly forced by a recent federal lawsuit that was set to make his name public in court.
The suit, filed in New Mexico in July, claims Stuef hacked the plaintiff's email and texts to locate the chest - allegations he vehemently denies.
Before his death, Fenn said the treasure was in Wyoming but neither Stuef nor Fenn's relatives have said where specifically.
' didn't want to see it turned into a tourist attraction,' he told Outside. 'We thought it was not appropriate for that to happen. He was willing to go to great lengths, very great lengths, to avoid ever having to tell the location.'
Stuef is pictured with Fenn shortly after finding the treasure in June. Fenn later died aged 90 in September
Stuef says he spent two years searching for Fenn's treasure, which included gold, jewelry and other artifacts
WHO IS FORREST FENN AND WHAT IS HIS TREASURE?
Fenn was an art dealer from Santa Fe who claimed he hid a treasure chest with gold and jewels in the Rocky Mountains, which was found in June 2020
Forrest Fenn was a pilot in the US Air Force, who rose to the rank of Major and received a Silver Star for his service during the Vietnam War.
After retiring, he moved to New Mexico with his wife, Peggy, and ran the Arrowsmith-Fenn Gallery with his partner, Rex Arrowsmith, which eventually became the Fenn Galleries.
The gallery is said to have brought in $7million a year, making Fenn a millionaire.
In 1988, after learning he had cancer that was likely terminal, Fenn was inspired to hide a treasure chest somewhere outdoors to create a public search for it.
He recovered and, in 2010, self-published The Thrill of the Chase: A Memoir, which is a collection of short stories from his life.
Fenn claimed in the short stories that he had hidden a chest with gold nuggets, rare coins, jewelry and gemstones 'in the mountains somewhere north of Santa Fe'.
He said the stories in the book contained clues about the chest's location including nine clues in the poem found in the chapter titled 'Gold and More.'
A treasure hunt was sparked through several states with thousands of people searching up and down New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.
At least five people have died while searching for the treasure between January 2016 and March 2020.
In June 2020, Fenn revealed that the treasure was located by an East Coast man in Wyoming.
He did not reveal the man's identity at his request, but posted photos of the treasure to prove that it had been found.
Fenn died on September 7, 2020 at age 90.
Stuef, who spent two years searching for Fenn's treasure, said he learned of the hunt on Twitter in 2018 while attending medical school, but eventually became disinterested in his studies because he began obsessing over the treasure's location.
'I’ve probably thought about it for at least a couple hours a day, every day, since I learned about it,' Stuef said. 'Every day.'
'I think I got a little embarrassed by how obsessed I was with it,' he continued. 'If I didn’t find it, I would look kind of like an idiot. And maybe I didn’t want to admit to myself what a hold it had on me.'
Stuef finally managed to do what thousands of others couldn't by finding Fenn's chest on June 6, 2020, just months before he passed.
To decode the mystery, Stuef said he began intimately studying every Fenn interview he could find, trying to find secret meanings in the words the man spoke.
Though he declined to disclose to Outside how exactly he solved the riddle, Stuef said he didn't use GPS or any other kind of modern technology in his search.
The treasure seekers who have died while hunting Fenn's bounty
Randy Bilyeu, pictured, was found dead in the wilderness west of Santa Fe
At least five people have died while searching for the treasure. Police officials had publicly implored Fenn to end the treasure hunt, saying it is a danger to public safety.
Michael Sexson
Michael SexsonMichael SexsonSexson, 53, from Deer Park, and his companion, an unnamed 65-year-old man from Thornton, had set out in March this year to look for the riches in a remote section of Dinosaur National Monument - the same area where the pair of adventurers had gotten trapped in the snow in late February and had to be rescued.
On this occasion, by the time rescuers tracked down the two treasure hunters, who had been reported missing four days earlier, Sexson had died. His companion, who was said to be wearing more weather-appropriate gear, survived the ordeal and was airlifted to safety.
Randy Bilyeu
Jeff Murphy, 53, was found dead in Yellowstone National Park
Bilyeu went missing in January 2016 and was found dead in July.
His body was discovered by workers along the Rio Grande, and an autopsy could not determine cause of death.
Bilyeu's ex-wife has publicly stated her belief that the Fenn Treasure is a hoax.
Jeff Murphy
Murphy, 53, of Batavia, Illinois was found dead in Yellowstone National Park on June 9, 2017 after falling about 500 feet down a steep slope.
The investigation by Yellowstone officials into Murphy's death was kept private, but KULR-TV obtained it through a Freedom of Information Act request in February 2018.
The investigative report reveals Murphy's wife told park authorities that Murphy was looking for the treasure when she called to report him missing.
Pastor Paris Wallace
Eric Ashby, 31, was found dead in Colorado's Arkansas River
Wallace, of Grand Junction, Colorado, told family members that he was searching for a buried treasure, but he failed to show up for a planned family meeting on June 14, 2017. His car was found parked near the Taos Junction Bridge and his body was found 5 to 7 miles downstream along the Rio Grande.
Eric Ashby
Ashby, 31, was found dead in Colorado's Arkansas River on July 28, 2017.
Friends and family state that he had moved to Colorado in 2016 to look for the treasure, and was last seen on June 28 rafting on the river 10 to 15 miles upstream from where his body was found. The raft overturned, and Ashby had been missing since that time.