A Utah man who dug in Yellowstone National Park while looking for buried treasure that captivated thousands pleaded guilty this week and could be sentenced to prison.
Rodrick Dow Craythorn, 52, did not find the treasure buried by New Mexico art dealer Forrest Fenn a decade ago.
Craythorn was indicted in September for digging in the Fort Yellowstone cemetery. He pleaded guilty this week to a charge of excavation or trafficking in archaeological resources and damage or depredation of US property and faces a maximum of 12 years in prison. Online court records show that there was a guilty plea, but it is not publicly available. The sentence is scheduled for March 17.
A Craythorn lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment Friday night.
Forrest Fenn’s treasure, which was found in June, was a chest of gold and jewelry that Fenn hid between 2009 and 2010 and was estimated at around $ 2 million. A poem contained clues about the location of the treasure.
“The Forrest Fenn treasure hunt was often seen as a harmless diversion, but in this case, it has led to substantial damage to important public resources,” said Mark Klaassen, US attorney for the District of Wyoming, in a statement on Tuesday.
“The defendant left his search for the discovery to nullify respect for the law,” said Klaassen.
Before the treasure was discovered, several people died looking for it. In 2017, the New Mexico state police chief discouraged people from hunting him, citing the dangers involved.
Fenn left researchers with nine clues in a poem in his book, “The Thrill of the Chase”, and said the hunt was meant to get people out and explore nature. It was reported that thousands sought him out at some point.
Fenn announced in June that the treasure had been found, but did not say who found it or exactly where. Fenn died in September.
In December, Fenn’s grandson confirmed that the discoverer was Jonathan “Jack” Stuef, 32, a medical student from Michigan, the Associated Press reported. Stuef wrote in a post on Medium that he found the chest in Wyoming on June 6. He did not detail the location.
It is not clear from court documents how much damage was done by Craythorn while digging at Fort Yellowstone Cemetery, which prosecutors said occurred between October 2019 and May 24; the prosecution only says it was over $ 1,000. Park officials declined to comment, as the criminal case was ongoing.
Yellowstone Fort was built in the park after the Army was sent after poaching, souvenir hunting and other harmful acts after the national park was established by Congress in 1872, according to the park’s service. Thirty-five buildings are still there.
The Army remained in the park until 1918, when functions were transferred to the National Park Service, created by Congress two years earlier.
