Leo lives! Miracle dog survives after owner dies in Fenn treasure hunt

This story was previously published on December 24, 2021.

While flying by helicopter, medical nurse Erin Johnson scanned the bank of the Rio Grande for Randy Bileu, a 53-year-old grandfather from Colorado. Bilyeu had set out from a location near Santa Fe 10 days earlier on a small raft, searching for a chest of gold hidden somewhere in the Rocky Mountains by the millionaire. Forrest Fenn.

It was all part of a game Fenn had dreamed of. The former Santa Fe art gallery owner launched a modern-day scavenger hunt in 2010 with the publication of his memoir, “The Thrill of the Chase.” Fenn incorporated a cryptic poem into the memoir and promised that if an intelligent person followed the clues correctly, “you’ll be surprised at what you find,” Fenn told CBS News in 2015. The treasure chest contained about $1 million in gold and other valuables, and if you found it, it would be yours. Bilyeu caught gold fever and was hunting when he disappeared.

The story of Fenn’s gold is related by “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil for “48 Hours” In “The Fenn Treasure”, Dokoupil wrote a long article about Fenn’s treasure in 2012 for News week magazine. That article is widely credited with introducing Fenn’s modern treasure hunt to a national audience.

Tens of thousands of researchers from around the world heeded Fenn’s call and headed to the Rockies. Fenn said the trunk was hidden in one of four states: Montana, Wyoming, Colorado or New Mexico.

Bilyeu thought he had an idea of ​​the place and set out in January 2016 to claim the prize. He brought with him his faithful companion Leo, a long-haired Jack Russell terrier. The two were inseparable and if you knew Bilyeu, you knew Leo.

But after pushing his raft into the Rio Grande, neither friends nor family heard from Bilyeu, and after 10 days he was reported missing. Johnson was the flight nurse aboard a medical helicopter sent to try to find any sign of Bilyeu.

“We were notified that this gentleman was missing… and the weather was very cold,” she told “48 Horas” in an exclusive interview. “We suspect this would likely be a body recovery mission rather than being able to find him alive. But of course, we were all cautiously optimistic that we would be able to find him alive.”

Pilot Satoshi Mori flew as low as possible given FAA regulations and the high voltage wires in the area. They set out near the place where Bilyeu put his raft in the water and went down the river to Lake Cochiti. They flew around the lake and had enough fuel to return upriver and examine the shore.

“And that’s when we luckily found his raft,” she said.

The raft was upside down and Johnson and the pilot saw no signs of life. The pilot landed the helicopter on a nearby sandbar so the team could search on foot. “The bank supported us. We were very lucky,” she said. “When we turned off the helicopter and got out, we could clearly see the raft. And it was at that moment that we saw that there was a little dog that was there barking at us and still alive.”

Johnson said the crew knew Bilyeu had a dog with him. After 10 days in the cold, Leo seemed shaken and defensive.

“We couldn’t get close to him for about an hour. He was very, very aggressive, barking at us ferociously. And whenever we tried to get close to him, he quickly backed away…”

The crew was surprised that Leo had survived not only the elements, but also the area’s wildlife. “I’m sure there are coyotes and mountain lions and all sorts of different animal habitats that come to the river to get water. I’m sure Leo encountered a lot of those animals in his short time there.”

Johnson could clearly see that Leo was wearing a sweater. “Leo looked very mangy. He was wearing a sweater, which was very dirty,” she said. “It was pretty mangy too. But I’m sure that sweater saved his life…it was so cold it’s hard to believe he survived.”

After searching the area for Bilyeu and finding no sign of him, the crew prepared to leave, but Leo still wouldn’t allow them any closer. That’s when Johnson asked if anyone had food. The pilot did.

“He was the only one of us who had food with him. It’s very common for flight crew to carry a granola bar or a Clif bar or something similar. .

“It was hard as a rock. So I actually had to bite off a piece of it and – chew just a little bit before I handed it to Leo. And the first time I handed him a piece, he wouldn’t take it.

“But then I would leave and come back. And I think finally, on the third or fourth time, he was willing to come take it from me. And after that, he took several pieces. He was obviously starving. And then, finally Analysis, it was the Clif bar that saved Leo’s life.

“And by the time we had to leave, I had a big, thick jacket on. And I just threw it over him and picked him up and took him to the helicopter. But he wasn’t… after he started accepting food and when my jacket was thrown at him, he took it very well and actually rode very calmly in the helicopter back to our base.

Johnson initially surrendered Leo to a local animal shelter that cared for him while authorities contacted Bilyeu’s relatives. But Johnson was determined to adopt him, and with the cooperation of Bilyeu’s family, Leo became part of her family.

Leo – the best rescue dog – was thriving and even learned a few new tricks.

Once the official search for Bilyeu was called off, his fellow treasure hunters spent months searching for themselves. Drone pilots filmed lots of footage and posted it online so researchers could scour for any sign of Bilyeu. Nobody found any. But six months later, his body was found on the riverbank.

Bilyeu was the first treasure hunter to die for looking for Fenn’s gold, but he wouldn’t be the last. Four others died after Bilyeu. Loved ones of his, and even a state police chief, asked Fenn to call off the hunt, but he refused.

“In the summer, we jump in a pool. But if someone drowns in a pool, should we empty the pool or should we teach people how to swim? That’s how I feel,” Fenn said in response to the deaths.