Yellowstone treasure hunter pleads not guilty to alleged violations of park rules

Posted 2/11/20

An Indiana treasure hunter who was rescued from the bottom of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone last month has pleaded not guilty to several violations of park rules.

David D. Christensen has …

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Yellowstone treasure hunter pleads not guilty to alleged violations of park rules

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An Indiana treasure hunter who was rescued from the bottom of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone last month has pleaded not guilty to several violations of park rules.

David D. Christensen has been charged with three federal misdemeanors in connection with his descent into the canyon: disorderly conduct; foot travel in a thermal area; and violating the conditions of his non-commercially guided snowmobile access program permit. Christensen, 55, formally denied the allegations during a Feb. 3 arraignment at the Yellowstone Justice Center in Mammoth Hot Springs. He appeared by phone while his defense attorney, Rebecca Swandal of Livingston, Montana, attended the brief hearing on his behalf.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Carman allowed Christensen — who lives in Winamac, Indiana — to remain free on an unsecured bond and scheduled a March 9 hearing on the status of the case; no trial date has been set.

In an interview with the Tribune last month, Christensen said he ventured into the canyon in search of a cache of gold hidden by Forrest Fenn of Sante Fe, New Mexico. Christensen tied a rope to the railing at a popular overlook of the Yellowstone River canyon and climbed 850 feet down to the river. After searching in deep snow, he said a bear or moose made him rethink his efforts, but he was unable to climb back out of the canyon. Almost a dozen rangers trained in high angle technical rescues wound up coming to his aid in a multi-hour rescue operation.

Fenn said in 2017 that “it is not necessary to move large rocks or climb up or down a steep precipice” to reach the treasure, which he’s stashed somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. In recent phone interviews, though, Christensen has continued to express certainty that the canyon holds the more than 40 pounds of gold and jewels. However, Christensen said he will never return to Yellowstone to attempt to find the treasure again

“I’m done,” he said. “I’m never going back.”

Christensen is banned from the park while the criminal case is pending in Wyoming’s U.S. District Court. If convicted of the misdemeanor offenses, he could face a longer ban, along with the possibility of jail time and fines.

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