Local father, daughter discover box full of hidden treasure and $5,000. Here’s where they found it
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IDAHO FALLS — A local family is $5,000 richer after finding hidden treasure in Pocatello.
Last month, Anderson Hicks Group launched the second annual Idaho Treasure Hunt by hiding a certificate for $5,000 in a treasure box along Gibson Jack Trail. It included gift cards to other businesses donated by local sponsors.
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Zach Johnson, 35, of Chubbuck found it Wednesday night with his 10-year-old daughter, Isla, more than a month after the first clue was announced. Anderson Hicks Group made the announcement on its Instagram page Thursday afternoon.
Johnson tells EastIdahoNews.com they found it about a mile and a half down the trail. He and his daughter have been searching for it since August 4.
“We couldn’t believe our eyes. My heart literally stopped for a second,” Johnson tells EastIdahoNews.com. “We were about to turn around because we got to the end of where we thought it would be. We looked just a little bit further and there it was.”
Over the last month, he and his daughter have been all over eastern Idaho, going on two hikes a week “scouring maps like crazy.” They’ve found a new activity they enjoy doing together, and finding the cash is an added bonus.
“She (Isla) was just having a good time hiking and then we found it,” says Johnson. “Oh my gosh! We are thrilled!”
Johnson works as a machinist at Premier Technology in Blackfoot. He’s planning to put the money towards some car repairs, a business venture, as well as save some of it for Christmas.
“We’re just so grateful. We really needed that. We were about to go look for loans to start my real estate photography business, and then this happened. It couldn’t have happened at a better time,” he says.
Spitfire Pickleball, Ron Sayer and Hamlet Homes, along with many other community partners, provided the prizes for this year’s hunt.
Anike Wilder, the marketing manager for Anderson Hicks, says they’re planning to host another treasure hunt next year.