A box of treasure covered in forest debris was hidden somewhere along a trail in Utah. With cryptic poetry scrawled on a faux parchment sheet hinting at the spot, a real live treasure hunt was set in motion. And the prize was open to all.
She stopped digging. She had to breathe.
Over the past month, Ms. Gotta had taken paid time off work and crossed state lines three times, while family and coworkers called her crazy. Now, having proven them all wrong, Ms. Gotta clinched the treasure, winning the hunt. She revealed how someone from out of state joined Utah Treasure Hunt 2023—its fourth year.
Lured In By Treasure
“I was lying in bed one morning, scrolling, like we do, and I was like, ‘Oh, a treasure hunt,’” she told organizers John Maxim and Dave Cline—who started Utah Treasure Hunt to lighten the depressing tones of 2020 during COVID. “I let it go for a couple of days, and then ever since then I’ve been on it.”She made three trips. On the first, she drove the 16 hours from her home in Pella, Iowa, to Utah with her family. The second time, she flew during a holiday weekend while family members shook their heads; coming up empty-handed, she told herself, “I’m done. I’m not doing it anymore.” But Ms. Gotta wasn’t done. She said, “I couldn’t let go.”
Her third trip was the charm.
The clues for the hunt were presented in a poem. It led Ms. Gotta and other participants to a trail in Mueller Park, which she scoured up and down for days. She met other treasure hunters, including three little blonde boys with their parents who had been thwarted for some time.
It was bounty or bust for Ms. Gotta. Canceling a vacation last week, she made her final trip after studying Mr. Cline and Mr. Maxim’s tips, which they emailed to participants weekly. “By Tuesday, I called my boss, ‘I need to take time off again,’” she said. “I drove back out Monday night.”
The clues were indeed obfuscated. They told of a grain tower that looks out to the west. They mentioned a shoulder of a mountain that brings fortune. There were words in Latin that Ms. Gotta could not decipher and references to the movie “Back to the Future” pertaining to the hidden spot.
‘The Utah Treasure Has Been Found’
Last Sunday, Ms. Gotta struck pay dirt. She got on the trail well before sunrise, just hours before she had to leave for work. Between two pine trees, hands pressed into the ground, she swept off more than a month’s worth of cones and prickly needles and uncovered the chest. It was filled with cash—$25,000, as promised.Afterward, some along the trail, like Ms. Jones, saw her and were concerned that she might be hurt. “She was crying and I thought something was wrong with her,“ Ms. Jones said. ”I said, ‘Are you okay?’ And she said, ‘Yes, I just found the treasure!’ … I knew when she said that this was that treasure that everybody’s looking for.”
Managing to catch up with Ms. Gotta before she packed up her cache and returned home to Iowa, Mr. Maxim and Mr. Cline told her how she looked: “Like the last scene of ‘Die Hard,’ covered in dirt and scrapes,” Mr. Maxim said. She was frayed but smiling.
In a congratulatory clip, which they posted on Instagram, the men debriefed the woman and informed the world: “After 51 days, the Utah Treasure has been found.” Ms. Gotta explained how she joined the hunt from far away; how she tuned her brain to piece together the clues; and what she plans to do with her winnings.
Some of the cash will go to the three little blonde boys she met on the trail, she said. As for the rest, her answer came as a surprise.
Ms. Gotta herself had once organized a treasure hunt in Iowa. Forking out $400 of her own cash, it was for a good cause. “A single mom found it that really needed it,” she told the men. Now with her new windfall—once the drain on her bank account from the latest foray is replenished—a chunk will go toward the next hunt.
Hearing this, the men were euphoric. “It’s like pay it forward with treasure hunts,” Mr. Cline said. “That’s awesome!”
