A Utah man accused of digging in Yellowstone National Park while searching for Forest Fan treasure faces two federal charges, prosecutors said.
This treasure, chest of jewelry and gems, was hidden a decade ago by an art collector, who was trying to leave links in a book he wrote before seekers found it in June.
Roderick Dow Crathorn, 52, was in search of her and dug into Fort Yellowstone Cemetery inside the national park between October 1, 2019 and May 24, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Wyoming District said in a statement.
Two federal counts were indicted by a grand jury on Feb. 16 in Crythoren, Sitakuze, Utah, and on Thursday, he pleaded not guilty while appearing in preliminary court, prosecutors said.
Her attorney declined to comment Thursday evening. Court records show Crathorne was released on his own merits.
The indictment does not provide details of exactly what happened and when, or what caused the damage to the cemetery except for હતું 1000. A statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said he was found digging in the historic cemetery.
Requests for comment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and a Yellowstone National Park spokesman were not immediately returned Thursday evening.
The treasure is named after a man named Forest Fan, an art merchant from New Mexico. He hid his chest between 2009 and 2010.
He left out nine keys from the book “The Thrill the F Chase” to help explorers find their treasure and said the hunt is aimed at bringing people out and exploring nature.
Fan announced in June that the treasure had been found, but did not say by whom or where. The U.S. attorney’s office fee said she was found in Wyoming. Fan died in September.
In his announcement that the treasure had been found, Fann wrote: “It was under the canopy of stars in the lush vegetation of the Rocky Mountains and did not move from where I hid it 10 years ago.”
It does not seem that anyone who discovered it has ever been known in public.
Fan said at the time of the search that a man from “Back East” had emailed him a photograph confirming it, but that the man wanted to remain anonymous.
The search for the treasure killed at least five people. At some point thousands of people are found to have discovered it. In 2017, the head of the New Mexico State Police discouraged people from hunting down, citing the dangers involved.
An attempt to find a phone number for Crathorn was not immediately available Thursday night.
He was charged with excavation or trafficking in archaeological resources, and injury or degradation of United States property.
Court documents indicate that a federal charge carries a sentence of zero to two years in prison and a fine of up to 20,000 20,000 if convicted; The second carries a potential sentence of zero to 10 years and a fine of up to 250 250,000.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said they are due for a Dec. 14 hearing.
