Two die in hunt for fabled US treasure

A treasure hunt devised to get unhealthy Americans off the couch and into the great outdoors has cost two fortune-seekers their lives.

A hoard of more than $1-million (about R13-million) in gold coins and jewellery is said to have been hidden somewhere in the Rocky Mountains by eccentric millionaire art dealer and former Vietnam fighter pilot Forrest Fenn.

Fenn, 86, had planned to inspire his countrymen back in 2010, when he claimed to have hidden a 9.9kg bronze chest stuffed with loot and then published a 24-line poem containing clues to its whereabouts.

Since then thousands of adventurers are believed to have headed to New Mexico, the most probable location, to search for the bounty.

But last week Fenn faced calls to end his stunt after the body of Paris Wallace, a pastor from Colorado, was found in the Rio Pueblo de Taos, 80km north of Santa Fe.

New Mexico state police chief Pete Kassetas said: "This is putting lives at risk. I think he has an obligation to retrieve his treasure if it does exist."

Last year another treasure hunter, Randy Bilyeu, 54, set out looking for the loot on a raft with his dog. His body was found six months later.

Wallace's widow, Mitzi, defended the "Fenn's Treasure" initiative and said she would continue the search for it with her teenage son.

"Our treasure is the time we spend together," she said.

Bilyeu's widow, Linda, accused Fenn of staging a hoax.

She said: "Only one man has the power to stop the madness but he continues to pretend he's doing a good deed."