Kriti Mehrotra
With Netflix’s ‘Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn’s Treasure’ delving deep into the way an art collector set off a real-life treasure hunt across the Rocky Mountains, we get a documentary series that is simply gripping. That’s because it delves into not just the way it ignited the magic of adventure and community between people but also because some people became so obsessed with it that they either spent years dedicated to it, lost all sense of morality, or lost their lives. Amongst them is self-proclaimed obsessive Justin Posey, but his interest in Fenn’s treasure was always far different than that of others.
The Origins of Justin Posey’s Adventurous Spirit
Born in Tucson, Arizona, as the eldest of two brothers to parents who worked in railroading services, Justin Posey was always encouraged to reach for the stars. While his hobbies may have been deemed strange or eccentric even by his own family members when he was growing up, they seemingly always supported him. That’s how he was able to explore the hills in Montana every single summer when he went there for a vacation with the family’s cabin, where his grandfather was a fish-and-game warden. In fact, he spent many summers dressing up like Indiana Jones and using metal detectors to hopefully find something new.
Justin’s family backed him up every step of the way by naming him the family’s resident treasure hunter, gifting him books on the same, and even encouraging his other interests. That’s likely how he had the confidence to do magic in his sixth-grade talent show, devour books of artifacts, and even dabble in engineering when he was just a teenager. His first foray into this came when he took apart his mother’s brand-new computer to understand its inner workings, reassembled it, and then built one for himself from scratch.
It thus comes as no surprise that he pursued further education in the same field from the University of Arizona after graduating from high school. It’s unclear precisely when or where he kickstarted his career, but we do know he is primarily a software engineer who was based out of Washington for a few years. Then, in 2015, he decided to go fully remote and relocate to Austin, Texas, alongside the love of his life, his wife Jennie, and their 55-pound vizsla named Tucker. By this point, though, he had already learned about Forrest Fenn’s treasure.
Justin Posey Started His Own Treasure Hunt Inspired by Forrest Fenn
While Justin was heartbroken over not being the one to be able to discover the storied treasure, what hurt him even more was his discovery that he was possibly 10 feet from it in Yellowstone and missed it. As per his accounts and the research he did from the information shared by Forrest Fenn and treasure finder Jack Stuef, he was in the right area in Yellowstone when he was there with his brother in the late 2010s. He believes he was most likely not more than 10-15 feet away from it at one point, but he didn’t even notice it, and so it slipped away from his fingers.
Nevertheless, Justin was rejuvenated once he heard that Jack was planning on auctioning off the treasure, so he made an appointment with the auction house to see the chest and all the 476 items inside. He made an offer for the entire lot on the spot, but the deal eventually fell through, and the items were sold individually. However, he still managed to secure some significant pieces from it. Since then, according to his own accounts, he has followed through with his original plan, albeit with some tweaks. He has allegedly hidden his own treasure now, the clues to which are reportedly scattered throughout the aforementioned documentary and his debut book ‘Beyond the Map’s Edge’ (published on March 27, 2025).
Like Forrest, Justin’s first major clue is a poem inside his book, which is also available on his website. As per his own accounts, his treasure is inside a Saddleback Leather 16-inch Grandfather briefcase and weighs roughly 60 lbs since it contains several gold bars, gold coins from across the globe and eras, loose jewels such as rubies, emeralds, as well as amethysts, a jewel-encrusted bracelet from Forrest’s treasure, historical artifacts spanning thousands of years, a piece of a meteorite, and a bitcoin wallet. He has also indicated that he has hidden this somewhere in West America and that he has done so in memory of his late grandfather, his late father, his late brother, and Tucker, who has also since sadly passed away.
Justin Posey is a Family Man and an Undeniable Nature Enthusiast
Although Justin prefers to keep his private life well away from the limelight, we do know that he is currently based in Austin, Texas, where he spends most of his time either with his wife, Jennie, or expanding on his interests. He seemingly does so while maintaining his career as a top-tier software engineer and computer scientist, which is saying a lot considering the various kinds of intense passions he has. There is, of course, artifact collecting, as well as experiments around near-infrared wavelengths to possibly create X-ray vision, woodworking, and titanium anodizing, all of which he does in his basement.
Flyfishing is a cherished tradition within our extended family, and Annette’s story is a testament to its enduring legacy. Annette embraced the art of flyfishing early on, influenced by her father, the legendary Bud Lilly.
Bud’s renowned trout shop in West Yellowstone, aptly…
— Justin Posey (@ReelLifeJustin) November 9, 2023
As if that’s not enough, Justin is also a true fishing, hiking, nature, and travel enthusiast who just happens to have an affinity for problem-solving and technological advancements. This is made evident through his recent visits to the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, the Sinks Canyon State Park in Wyoming, and Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada. Furthermore, the dog lover is also a truck aficionado – in fact, he actually takes his truck on his trips to ensure that he always has the best possible safety and shelter options, if need be. As for Justin’s interest in fishing, which stems from his family, it appears as if he is particularly into flyfishing these days, especially as it enables him to disconnect from the world and reconnect with nature as well as the simpler way of life, which resonates with him to the core of his being.
These days, Justin seems fully committed to spreading awareness about the treasure hunt he kickstarted. With the release of the Netflix documentary, his dream of organizing a nationwide treasure hunt competition, like Fenn did, might finally come true. As evident from his social media posts, the man seems fully committed to his mission. We wish him — and every aspiring treasure hunter armed with a riddle, a flashlight, and perhaps way too much free time — all the best!
Read More: Forrest Fenn’s Net Worth at the Time of His Death
