A treasure hunt that captivated San Francisco for nearly a month concluded on Tuesday when a participant unearthed a box containing $10,001 in cash. The event, dubbed "Buried Treasure, San Francisco," was organized by an anonymous pair who never actually hid the money within city limits. Instead, the chest lay across the Golden Gate Strait in a Marin Headlands cave, while searchers spent three weeks digging up local parks.
Organizers' Statements and Location Details
The organizers described the chest on their website as weighing over 150 pounds, buried under a foot of earth, and located within 7 miles of San Francisco's city hall. This radius extended just across the Golden Gate Strait into Marin County. According to the site, the cash was discovered by an "intrepid problem-solver" who deciphered the clues. In an email to SFGate, the organizers said they did not "know too much about the finders."
Public Damage and Official Response
The hunt, which began on April 29, sparked significant public interest but also led to widespread property damage across several Bay Area public spaces. Enthusiastic participants using shovels left trenches, damaged plants, and severed water lines. The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department launched an investigation into the destruction, as reported by ABC 7 San Francisco, after significant damage was documented at Ina Coolbrith Park, Francisco Park, and Washington Square Park.
Park officials and groundskeepers pleaded with the organizers to call off the diggers, reporting destroyed plants and shattered water lines in messages published on the group's website. One gardener at Francisco Park directly contacted the organizers to report "significant irrigation system and plant damage," noting that "the holes that people are digging illegally and without permits are also not covered over or are done so poorly and will need to be fixed." Angel Island park rangers also reached out to report similar destructive behavior.
Organizers' Clarifications and Hunt Conclusion
The organizers posted an update telling searchers to stop digging up public parks, clarifying that the cash was not hidden under lawns or planters. "If you find yourself wondering if the treasure is buried under some nice manicured lawn, or cared for planter, or under irrigation lines ... it is clearly NOT," they wrote. "It's not a trick. It's not some clever ruse." The hunt ended Tuesday when the organizers posted a brief message: "The Treasure Has Been Found. Stop Hunting!" They later released the solution to the riddle, directing people to the Marin Headlands cave, along with a photo of a team member burying the box.
Background and Future Plans
This was the second year the anonymous friends organized the hunt. Last May, a searcher found their 22-pound chest of gold and artifacts, valued at $10,000, in just 11 hours. Hoping this year's hunt would last longer, the organizers made the puzzle tougher, though they later described the process as a "work in progress." "This hunt was also confirmation that making a satisfying puzzle is quite difficult," the organizers told SFGate. "A brief poem that cleverly points to a single location would be quickly solved by a city of such great minds so keen to collaborate. A puzzle that can be interpreted enough ways to slow the solve from hours to weeks is simply a less satisfying solution."
For this year's hunt, the creators changed the prize from gold to "100 percent cold hard cash." They used the same box from the previous year, which the 2025 winners had donated back, but packed it to weigh over 150 pounds so the finders would "want to bring a friend." The organizers wrote on their website that this would be their last self-funded hunt, calling the project "a questionable financial decision the first time and downright idiotic the second." Still, they thanked the hundreds of local participants who sent them messages.
