Once upon a time an art collector from New Mexico filled a Romanesque bronze chest with millions of dollars worth of gold, artifacts and precious gems.

He ventured out into the Rocky Mountains and buried the treasure somewhere in the range with hopes that someday someone will unearth it. To this day, it remains undiscovered.

No, this isn't a fairytale. This is the true story of the infamous Fenn Treasure.

86-year-old Forrest Fenn had the idea of hiding a treasure in the wilderness and only leaving behind a trail of clues after his terminal kidney cancer diagnosis in 1988. But by some miracle he couldn't execute the plan because his cancer went into remission.

However, after the Great Recession, Fenn put his plan back into motion because he wanted to restore hope in people. "I wanted to give people some hope and something to believe in," he told Business Insider.

After leaving the $3 million treasure in the mountains in 2010, he published two books which contain clues and a map that will reveal the chest's location when deciphered.

"Read the clues in my poem over and over and study maps of the Rocky Mountains," he said. "Try to marry the two. The treasure is out there waiting for the person who can make all the lines cross in the right spot."

Since then, thousands have ventured into the Rockies in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana to search for the promised treasure but efforts were to no avail.

Over the last few years, he's released more hints including the fact that the treasure is located near Sante Fe and it is hidden higher than 5,000 ft above sea level.

Besides sharing his wealth, Fenn says the point of the treasure hunt is to get people away from their tech devices and have them venture outdoors. "I wanted to give the kids something to do," he said. "They spend too much time in the game room or playing with their little hand held texting machines."

If you're still skeptical, Fenn has shut down rumors that this is hoax, "There are only a few who have said it is a hoax and I don't say anything to them....it's out there just waiting for someone to find it."

Now that you know about the Fenn Treasure, that someone could be you! Just follow the clues provided in the poem here.