ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Police say a body has been found along the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico not far from where a Colorado pastor parked his vehicle before heading out to search for a supposed hidden cache of gold and jewels.
Authorities have yet to identify the body, but the case of missing pastor Paris Wallace of Grand Junction has reignited calls by some for the treasure hunt to come to an end.
In 2016, another Colorado man died in the New Mexico backcountry while searching for a bounty that an antiquities dealer, Forrest Fenn, said he stashed somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. It has inspired thousands to search in vain across remote corners of New Mexico, Yellowstone National Park and elsewhere.
In the latest case, crews began looking for Wallace last week after his family reported him missing.
Wallace, who is affiliated with Connection Church in Grand Junction, was in Espanola, New Mexico, for a meeting. His wife reported him as missing on Wednesday after not hearing from him for some time.
According to his family, he was driving a tan, beige 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe with the Colorado tag FQS-377.
Wallace is described as a white-Filipino man who is about 5-foot-9 and weighs roughly 200 pounds.