Authorities say a treasure hunter missing for more than six months has been confirmed dead after searchers found his remains in the New Mexico wilderness west of Santa Fe.
Santa Fe Police spokesman Greg Gurule said Tuesday that the office of the medical investigator confirmed the remains recovered along the Rio Grande are those of Randy Bilyeu.
The Colorado man disappeared in early January while searching for author Forrest Fenn's $2 million cache of gold and jewels in northern New Mexico.
Fenn dropped clues about the treasure trove in his 2011 memoir, "The Thrill of the Chase," inspiring tens of thousands to search the Rocky Mountains for it.
Authorities called off the official search for Bilyeu in January, citing a lack of evidence to point them in the right direction.
