Utah man, 52, charged with damaging historic cemetery at Yellowstone National Park while searching for Forrest Fenn treasure

  • Rodrick Dow Craythorn, 52, of Syracuse, Utah, was arrested on September 16 for allegedly digging at Fort Yellowstone Cemetery in Yellowstone National Park
  • He pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges of excavating or trafficking in archaeological resources and injury as well as depredation to US property
  • Prosecutors allege he went digging several times at the cemetery from October 1, 2019 and May 24, 2020 looking for the Forrest Fenn 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
  • If convicted, Craythorn faces up to 12 years in prison and more than $250,000 in fines 

By Mary Kekatos Senior Health Reporter For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

A federal grand jury has indicted a Utah man after he was found digging in a historic cemetery at Yellowstone National Park, allegedly looking for gold and jewels.

Rodrick Dow Craythorn, 52, of Syracuse, was charged on September 16 with excavating or trafficking in archaeological resources and injury as well as depredation to US property.

Prosecutors say Craythorn had been caused destruction at the cemetery on and off for the past eight months while looking for the infamous Forest Fenn treasure. 

Craythorn pleaded not guilty on Thursday and his trial is set to begin on December 14 in Casper, Wyoming.  

Rodrick Dow Craythorn, 52, of Syracuse, Utah, was arrested on September 16 for allegedly digging at Fort Yellowstone Cemetery (pictured) in Yellowstone National Park

Rodrick Dow Craythorn, 52, of Syracuse, Utah, was arrested on September 16 for allegedly digging at Fort Yellowstone Cemetery (pictured) in Yellowstone National Park

Prosecutors allege he went digging several times at the cemetery from October 1, 2019 and May 24, 2020 looking for the Forrest Fenn treasure (above)

Prosecutors allege he went digging several times at the cemetery from October 1, 2019 and May 24, 2020 looking for the Forrest Fenn treasure (above)

According to a news release from the Wyoming US Attorney's Office, Craythorn was found digging in the Fort Yellowstone Cemetery near park headquarters. 

Craythorn allegedly went searching for Fenn's treasure multiple times between October 1, 2019 and May 24, 2020.

Prosecutors did not specify how much damage he caused to the cemetery or how much it would cost to repair it. 

If convicted, the excavating count is punishable by up to two years in prison and up to a $20,000 fine and the depredation count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. 

Fenn was a gallery owner and former Air Force member from Santa Fe, New Mexico, who was diagnosed with cancer in 1988.

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 (above)

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 (above)

This allegedly inspired him to hide a treasure chest somewhere outdoors and create a public search for it.

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 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 searching in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.  

Fenn, who died in September 2020, announced just three months earlier, in June, that the treasure has been located in Wyoming, but did not say by whom.  

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 January 2020, David Christensen of Indiana had to be rescued from Yellowstone's Grand Canyon after he attempted to rappel over 850 feet.  

WHO IS FORREST FENN AND WHAT IS HIS TREASURE? 

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 $7 million 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.

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