United States Department of the Interior NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 12795 W. Alameda Parkway P.O. Box 25287 Denver, Colorado 80225-0287 July 30, 2020 A7221 (2550) Angela Wang 411A Highland Avenue MR 97297 Somerville, MA 02144 Dear Ms. Wang: Reference: Forrest Fenn Treasure Subject: Response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request NPS-2020-01088 This letter is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated July 20, 2020, in which you requested “internal reports, memoranda, investigation files, and correspondence regarding Fenn’s treasure.” Your request has been processed in accordance with the FOIA (5 U.S.C. § 552). Upon further review, your request is granted in part and denied in part. We are providing two files, totaling 41 pages of responsive material. Portions of approximately 33 pages, however, are being withheld under Exemption Exemptions 6 of the FOIA, and portions of approximately 22 pages are being withheld under Exemption 7(C) of the FOIA. Exemption 6 allows us to withhold information that if released would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Exemption 7(C) allows us to withhold information from law enforcement files that could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The information being withheld consists of personally identifiable information (PII), including names, addresses, driver’s license numbers and personal email addresses for individuals other than yourself. We have determined that the individuals to whom this information pertains have a substantial privacy interest in withholding it. You have not provided information that explains a relevant public interest under the FOIA in the disclosure of this personal information. Additionally, we have determined that the disclosure of this information would shed little or no light on the performance of the agency’s statutory duties. Because the harm to personal privacy is greater than whatever public interest might be served by disclosure, we have determined that the release of the information that is being withheld would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the privacy of these individuals and we are therefore withholding it under Exemptions 6 and 7(C). The incident reports you have requested are contained within the Incident Management and Reporting System (IMARS), which is a Privacy Act System of Records (DOI-10). Therefore, although some or all of the information being withheld may be known to you through other means, we are obligated under the Privacy Act and FOIA to withhold that information. Additionally, records relating to the death of Mr. Murphy at Yellowstone National Park has been previously been made available on our FOIA frequently requested documents page https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/foia/foia-frd.htm. Pursuant to regulation, 43 CFR 2.24(b) the following person is responsible for this denial: Charis Wilson NPS FOIA Officer Additionally the following attorney was consulted during the preparation of this response: Jason Waanders, Attorney-Advisor, Office of the Solicitor U.S. Department of the Interior, Philadelphia, PA You have the right to appeal this denial of your request. You may file an appeal by writing to: Freedom of Information Act Appeals Officer Office of the Solicitor U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, NW MS-6556-MIB, Washington, D.C. 20240 [email protected] Your appeal must be received no later than 90 workdays after the date of this final response. The appeal should be marked, both on the envelope and the face of the appeal letter, with the legend "FREEDOM OF INFORMATION APPEAL." Your appeal should be accompanied by a copy of your original request and copies of all correspondence between yourself and the National Park Service related to this request, along with any information you have which leads you to believe the records are available, including where they might be found, if the location is known to you. Please note, appeals received after 5 p.m. EST will be considered to have been received as of the following day. Also as part of the 2007 OPEN Government Act FOIA amendments, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) was created to offer mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies as a nonexclusive alternative to litigation. Using OGIS services does not affect your right to pursue litigation. You may contact OGIS in any of the following ways: Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) National Archives and Records Administration Room 2510 8601 Adelphi Road College Park, MD 20740-6001 E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 301-837-1996 Fax: 301-837-0348 Toll-free: 1-877-684-6448 Additionally, because the National Park Service creates and maintains law enforcement records, we are required by the Department of Justice to provide the following information, even though it may or may not apply to your specific request. Congress excluded three discrete categories of law enforcement and national security records from the requirements of the FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. 552(c) (2006 & Supp. IV 2010). This response is limited to those records that are subject to the requirements of the FOIA. This is a standard notification that we are required to give all our requesters and should not be taken as an indication that excluded records do, or do not, exist. Please do not hesitate to contact me, as the person responsible for processing your request, with any further questions or concerns. Additionally, contact information for the Department’s FOIA Public Liaison is available at https://www.doi.gov/foia/foiacenters. Sincerely, Charis Wilson NPS FOIA Officer From: Ross.Tara To: --net Subject: �gov: ALERT - TREASURE HUNTER KNOWN AS-- INBOUND TO YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK Date: Wednesday, October29, 2014 2:24:28 PM Hello Mr. Fenn, I am fo1warding this email that came to Yellowstone National Park from someone named Anne Onomuss (obviously anonymous). We have had several treasure hunters in the park. I'm not sure why exactly we should pay special attention to this. I assumed it was a hoax that had no purpose. Out of curiosity, I called the phone number on the email to see if it was the "sender" who would answer. If this email is actually from you and you have anything particular you are hying to ale1i to us, feel free to contact us again. If you have prope1iy in a ce1iain location and you are concerned about that being found, you might want contact our law enforcement office. Feel free to call me as well. My contact info1mation is below. Sincerely, Tara Ross On Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 2:59 PM, YELL Visitor Services, NPS <yell visitor [email protected]> wrote: Doesn't look like this one includes Lamar, but I threw you Cats in there since most of the others have been going that way. Matt ---------- Fo1warded message---------­ From: <[email protected]> Date: Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 2:39 PM Subject:From NPS.gov: ALERT - TREASURE HUNTER KNOWN AS INBOUND TO YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK To: YELL Visitor [email protected] Email submitted from: [email protected] at /yell/contacts.htm ALERT - TREASURE HUNTERKNOWN AS INBOUND TO YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL FOR THE ATTENTION OF CHIEF RANGER, TIMREID Hello Ranger Reid, A treasure hunter using the alias of- (may be his actual name) is believed to headed to Yellowstone National Park with the objective of retrieving the treasure chest hidden by Fonest Fenn. The dates of his visit are believed to be sometime between October 24th tlnu the road closures of November 3rd. It is believed there is a 99.9% chance that he will have the ti·easure chest in his possession when he leaves the park. It is believed he will be in the vicinity of Madison Junction and Old Faithful. His knownlast website/blog post (below) was dated Thursday, October 23, 2014. Chase Chat website/blog:http://www.chasechat.com/chat/? minglefornmaction=viewtopic&t=1791 - is believed to be a , in Ohio. A � & photograph believe Suggest the Yellowstone rangers be on the lookout for this individual (most probably using a rental car) and search his vehicle BEFORE he departs the park. Should the ti·easure chest be in Mr. Nowak's possession, it should be confiscated, and it is respectfullyrequested that it be returnedto the original owner; Fonest Fenn, contact details under. Fonest B. Fenn 1021 Old Santa Fe Trail Santa Fe, NM 87505-0358 Telephone: Email Address: National Park Service Visitor Se1vices Office PO Box 168 Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190 307 344 2109 Tara Ross West District Ranger Yellowstone National Park 307-344-2881 office 406-581-1644 cell From: Forrest Fenn To: "Ross,Tara" Cc: Forrest Fenn Subject: RE: From NPS.gov: ALERT - TREASURE HUNTER KNOWN AS-- INBOUND TO YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 3:09:10 PM Tera, Your- has been a trouble maker on the biogs for many months and has been blocked and then allowed to return. He has claimed to have found the treasure but has never supplied any proof. To tweak my memory I asked a friend who biogs to tell me what is generally known about- and the response is below for your information. My feeling is that you can forget about him. I have no idea who Anne Anomuss is but I can assure it is not me. I will forward additional information about- as soon as I receive it. Forrest Fenn FF - I can research for you, but I need time. I might be miles off the mark, but I think he's arrogant, conceited, halfway intelligent, boring, & secretive. I wouldn't trust him. His picture on the blog is Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones.