The search for hidden treasure has claimed another life as the remains of Eric Ashby of Colorado Springs were positively identified this week.

Ashby was presumed to have drown in the Arkansas River in Colorado this past June as he and three others fell out of a raft. While the three others made it to safety, two of the other rafters saw him alive and hanging on a rock. It took them over a week to notify authorities.

The search for Forrest Fenn's hidden treasure has claimed three Colorado lives. Along with Ashby, Randall Bilyeu of Broomfield and Paris Wallace of Grand Junction have also died while searching for a treasure chest with gold and artifacts that Fenn claims is valued in the millions.

As to where the treasure is, clues to its location can be found in Fenn's poem, The Thrill of the Chase. It could be anywhere in the Rocky Mountains from Montana to New Mexico.

Fenn is a retired Air Force pilot who owns an art gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife Peggy. In 1988, he was diagnosed with what he thought was terminal cancer and decided to load up a small chest with gold nuggets, rare coins, jewelry and gemstones that he is estimated at between one to five million dollars. He hid it somewhere in the Rocky Mountains for someone to find in hope that the search and riches would be his legacy. The poem and the search has generated a lot of interest with multiple websites created to help with clues to its location.

 

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