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, /news/new-mexico/index.html New Mexico, art and kynghidongduong.vn 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.
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image class="left" url= 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.
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Craythorn was digging for the treasure at a cemetery (pictured) at the park
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image class="left" url= Craythorn could face up to 12 years in prison and $[[
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 idemagazine last month.
Stuef's identity was also independently verified in a statement released by the Fenn family, but if he'd had his way, the Michigan native says he would have preferred to remain anonymous. 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.
'[Fenn] 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.'
image class="left" url= Stuef is pictured with Fenn shortly after finding the treasure in June.
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Fenn later died aged 90 in September
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image class="left" url= Stuef says he spent two years searching for Fenn's treasure, which included gold, jewelry and other artifacts (above)
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox news" data-version="2" id="mol-dc591610-5025-11eb-a776-ef4af011b231" website who dug for Forrest Fenn's treasure faces up to 12 years in jail
