There’s a $26,000 gold prize hidden in the woods somewhere in the Northeast

BOSTON – A $26,000 gold trophy may be hidden in the woods in Massachusetts. It’s part of a large treasure hunt orchestrated by two New Hampshire men.

Video game developer Jason Rohrer and his cohort Tom Bailey are the creators of Project Skydrop. It’s a search for the trophy that’s hidden in the woods somewhere in the Northeast. They hid the treasure.

“The treasure contains 10 ounces of pure gold, and gold is at the highest price in human history, lucky for us today, so the treasure is currently worth, like, $26,000 if you were to melt it down,” Rohrer told WBZ-TV. “Most [treasure hunts] have just sort of giant flaws in them where they kind of broke in one way or another. Either they were way too easy and solved right away or way too hard.”

Project skydrop clues

The trophy is not only a prize, but a clue to decoding the recovery password to access the money in a Bitcoin purse. The money in it grows every time someone enters the race. As of September 24, the pot was more than $20,000.

“If you join the treasure hunt for 20 bucks, you get access to clues that members of the public don’t get,” Rohrer said.

The benefits include ever-evolving aerial images of the trophy that expand higher and higher over time to show more of the surrounding area. The hunters began with a 500-mile circular search radius on a map. The circle shrinks as the hunt continues, and there is also a live trail camera on the trophy.

“Instead of sitting at your screen pretending you are having an adventure, you’re actually going out into the real world and actually having a real adventure,” Rohrer told WBZ.

Project skydrop treasure hunter

Matt Hopkinson is one of the hunters. The Hubbardston native used to work for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. He’s putting his forestry skills to the test.

“I went for a day hike, which is fun anyway, and I stood in so many places this morning with the right kind of trees and leaves and everything. It’s like, ‘It should be here; it should be right here in front of me,'” said Hopkinson.

The current circle ranges from eastern New York into western Massachusetts. A group on the social media and chat program Discord have been discussing clues.

“So you can kind of tell when sunrise and sunset is, and there is no way it’s western New York,” said Hopkinson.

If he finds the trophy, he plans to keep it instead of selling off the gold.

“What good is a story without the prop?” asked Hopkinson.

So far, the only living beings to spot the trophy are a deer, an opossum, and a porcupine. The trail camera will capture the eventual winners discovering the trophy.

“If it’s successful, we want to do different locations, like West Coast. We’re talking to people from Australia,” Bailey said.

Mike Sullivan

Mike Sullivan is a multimedia journalist for WBZ-TV. He returned to his home state of Massachusetts after reporting in the Midwest for more than ten years.