Five Reasons to Question Your Faith in Forrest Fenn

Today, Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin issued a public warning to all searchers of the Forrest Fenn treasure. In the past two years, two people have died, two searchers have been rescued near death, and multiple searchers have had run-ins with law enforcement.

The warning was issued via a local news station, and the article featured a photo of a smiling Jeff Murphy. Looking at his sunny countenance, my heart cracked a little. Because Jeff Murphy is dead.

Would Jeff have risked his life searching for a treasure had he known Forrest Fenn’s dark side? Would he have searched if he had seriously considered the leap of faith required to believe that Forrest Fenn had even hid a treasure in the first place?

Would Paris Wallace, a pastor, and another fatality in this cursed treasure hunt, have searched if he had known about Forrest Fenn’s intimate relationships with female searchers?

Although I believe I have more than enough evidence to prove that Forrest Fenn has purposefully perpetuated a cult, I would like to focus on something else in this article.

The topic of faith often comes up in comments and postings on search blogs and forums. When someone asks how can we be sure that Forrest Fenn hid a treasure for anyone to find, the answer always comes down to faith.

“I have faith in Forrest Fenn,” is the frequent reply. Now, although I’d really like to go into depth about how this statement is enough to suspect cult-like mentality in the chase, I’d rather ask a question…

WHY? Why do you have faith in Forrest Fenn? Why do you have faith that he hid a treasure chest somewhere in the Rocky Mountains?

Here are five reasons why you shouldn’t have faith in Forrest Fenn, and why you should seriously contemplate the probability that he never hid a chest in the first place. Although I could present plenty of my own theories, I’m not going to do that in this article. What I’m going to do is show you where Forrest Fenn himself tells you that you should doubt his word.

1.     In the very first paragraph of Forrest Fenn’s memoir, The Thrill of the Chase, Forrest Fenn admits he “embellishes” the truth. “All the stories that mingle among these pages are as true to history as one man can average out the truth, considering the FACT that one of my natural instincts is to embellish just a little.”

2.     Forrest Fenn identifies with Holden Caulfied, who thought of himself as “the greatest liar.” Holden Caulfield also embodied Forrest Fenn’s self-proclaimed Number One Rule: It’s not who you are, it’s who they think you are.” In an email to a Stephanie, Forrest Fenn modified this to: It’s not who I am, it’s who I can make you believe I am.” Holden Caulfield knew what to say to get what he wanted; he flattered and cajoled with flowery words while his mind sarcastically insulted the objects of his attention. In Fenn’s memoir, he says of The Catcher in the Rye, “The more I thought about it, the more I realized the book was about me…”

3.     Everyone gets the 85/15% thing on page 14 wrong. In an email to me, Forrest said he was careful to make sure he worded that sentence in a way so that it didn’t apply to him. He isn’t saying that he speaks 85% truth. What he’s saying is that he’s not a non-fiction writer; he’s saying we can’t know what percentage of truth he speaks. He then goes on to warn the reader that he isn’t exactly a truthful guy. “I never thought I had to believe everything I said…”

4.     Forrest Fenn’s father taught him to not tell all the truth. On page 26, Marvin tells a young Forrest, “…you should always tell the truth, but you should not always tell ALL of the truth.” So, what is it that Forrest isn’t telling us? Maybe that the real treasure isn’t what we think it is? That the chase isn’t exactly a hoax, because the poem doesn’t lead you to a physical treasure, but the experience of searching for a treasure? Forrest seems to hint at this possibility with many comments that emphasize his Duveen quote, “They never knew it was the chase they sought and not the quarry.” Maybe that’s a reference to the “trove for all to seek?” Maybe the chase is the “trove” he’s referring to!

5.     Forrest Fenn’s sketchy reputation as an art dealer who used deceptive practices to sell his wares. Forrest Fenn admits he did not let his customers know that the Anasazi pottery they purchased were not 100% genuine in his sarcastically-named article, Honesty Made Me Do It. This article could be found on his Old Santa Fe blog before the chase went public. Of course, since he couldn’t flat out tell people he employed some controversial sales tactics, he took this article off the blog along with a few others just before he advertised The Thrill of the Chase. You can find these articles using the wayback machine search engine. In this particular article, Fenn admits to fast-talking his way out of being charged with fraud by a postal inspector. A customer who had bought what he thought was a genuine Anasazi pot was shocked when the pot broke during transit and it was discovered that the pot had been partially “refurbished” with plaster.

Forrest says, “My only chance (to avoid criminal prosecution) was to try to bluff it out…”

After he deceives the postal inspector with some smooth talking, he even has the gall to pull a Holden Caulfield on the guy. Earlier in the article, Forrest had noted that he thought the tie the postal inspector was wearing was “the ugliest tie he ever saw.” So, as the guy was leaving, Forrest says, “That’s a really great tie you’re wearing.” Classic Holden Caulfield!

Now, these five points all happen prior to page 27 of The Thrill of the Chase. I could easily go on by quoting other beauties that hint at the dubious character of Forrest Fenn, like where he imagined his father watching him from a cloud, and says, “If he knows everything about me he’s pretty busy lighting candles, some of them on both ends.”

To sum up, the amount of faith searchers have in Forrest Fenn is not justifiable when the evidence is weighed. Believing everything Forrest Fenn says is the equivalent of buying a car from  a used car salesman with a reputation for selling lemons.

Forrest Fenn has warned searchers over and over throughout his books, interviews, and blog posts that he should not be trusted. His very own words should serve as a warning: BUYER BEWARE. I know that I don’t buy what he’s selling.