You Can't Read This Book (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)
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Hey Prime members, you can binge eight new episodes of the Mr. Ballin podcast one month early and all episodes ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. One night in 2020, a woman named Beth Van Os paced back and forth in a small room in the house she shared with her boyfriend, Mike, in rural Colorado. She dialed Mike's phone number again and put her phone to her ear, but just like the last time she'd called, he didn't pick up. And so now, Beth was afraid.

Mike had left that morning, headed for the woods, promising her that when he came back, they would finally have everything they had ever dreamed of. He had also taken something with him, something he had become obsessed with, something that Beth had begged him to forget about and throw away, but he had refused. And now, he was simply gone. Beth dialed the phone again, but this time, she called the police.

But before we get into that story, if you're a fan of the Strange, Dark, and Mysterious delivered in story format, then you've come to the right podcast because that's all we do and we upload twice a week. Once on Monday and once on Thursday. As well as this very special episode of a new format I'm calling You Can't, which we upload periodically.

If you're a fan of my YouTube channel, you know that we have a very popular series called Places You Can't Go and People Who Went There Anyways. And so we decided to tell some stories that are similar to those here on this podcast, something that's a new concept. Now, keep in mind, this is in addition to the regular upload schedule. This is like a special extra upload. And we are going to do this periodically just to give you more Mr. Ballin stories that we know you all love.

So if that's of interest to you, on the next day, the Follow Button barbecues their famous steak that they and their family adore. Be sure to, beforehand, secretly steal all their steak knives and replace them with plastic cutlery. Okay, let's get into today's story.

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Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Potential savings will vary, not available in all states or situations. On March 18, 2020, 53-year-old Mike Sexton sped across an open field on a snowmobile in Dinosaur National Monument, a huge park that stretches out over 200,000 acres on the Colorado-Utah border. Mike glanced over and saw his good friend and poker buddy, Stephen Inlow, on a snowmobile of his own. And Mike could see Stephen had a big smile on his face.

He knew his friend was taking in the stunning scenery all around them. They were cruising across a snow-covered field, there were forests on either side, and the hills and mountains and mesas all rising up in the distance. Now, normally, that's what Mike would be doing too. He loved the outdoors, and this place was absolutely beautiful. However, unlike Steven, Mike had not come to Dinosaur National Monument to enjoy the views. He'd come here to fulfill a quest he'd been on for years.

Mike looked away from Stephen and focused his attention back on the ground in front of him and the speed of his snowmobile. He didn't want to make any mistakes. Because the last time Mike had come out here, just a few weeks earlier, he'd gotten stuck in the snow, and the park service had come to rescue him. At the time, the officers had warned him not to come to this spot again. There was no cell service, and it was very easy to get lost. However, Mike clearly had no intention of heeding that warning.

After all, he knew something that the park service did not. He knew that hidden in the wilds of Dinosaur National Monument, there was a treasure that would change his life, and more importantly, the life of the woman he loved, forever. That woman was his longtime girlfriend, Beth Van Os. And for several years, in addition to being her romantic partner, Mike had also been Beth's caregiver, because she had suffered a brain injury.

Mike cooked all her meals, he took her to the doctor, and did basically whatever she needed. But at the same time, he had always felt tortured by the fact that he couldn't just take away her suffering altogether. Now, over time, Beth had begun to feel better, but both of them were still trying to recover from the whole ordeal. And the treasure that Mike was searching for was like the final step in their recovery. It would guarantee that both Mike and Beth would have happy, comfortable lives from here on out.

However, only Mike believed this treasure existed. Beth didn't. Instead, Beth really was just concerned about Mike's safety while he was out pursuing this quest. She felt like it was kind of pointless and he was going to get hurt. But Mike was sure of himself, he knew the risk was worth it, and also he just wasn't scared.

For this trip in particular, he knew he had brought Steven along so he wasn't alone. Now Mike knew Steven didn't believe in the quest any more than Beth did, but Steven was a great friend and travel companion. And another reason why Mike wasn't that concerned about his safety is he had spent years studying and preparing for this journey, and he knew he was ready. So he squeezed the throttle and felt his snowmobile kick into high speed.

About 20 minutes later, Mike and Stephen steered their snowmobiles around a curve. And up ahead, Mike saw some of the geographical landmarks he'd been waiting for. A snowy field, a dry rocky path, and a hill rising up against the sky. So he slowed his snowmobile down and brought it to a stop, and Stephen did the same thing. Then Mike took his backpack off, opened it up, and took out a book.

This book, in Mike's mind, was the key to the success of his quest. But Mike knew, you know, not everyone close to him felt the same way about this book or about Mike's obsession with this book. Beth and others worried that this book could actually lead Mike and whoever he brought with him into danger. But Mike had no intention of giving up when he was this close. So Mike opened up the book and like he had so many times before, he read a few lines from the front. They went like this.

"Begin it where warm waters halt, and take it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk. Put in below the home of Brown." Beth would always say it sounded like the stuff was written by a madman. Mike didn't disagree that the writing was strange at times, but at the same time, he really felt like the writing contained the information he was desperately seeking. While keeping the book open, Mike also pulled out a map he'd brought, and he began to look from the map to the hill out in front of him and then back to this poem in the book.

And as he did this a few times, he felt this rush of happiness because he was sure that everything he'd been working towards was about to come to fruition. He looked over and told Stephen they were definitely on the right path. But since the snow-covered field they'd ridden across gave way to a dry rocky trail ahead, they would have to walk the rest of the way. Stephen nodded agreeably, and then both men climbed off their snowmobiles.

Mike took out a couple of candy bars and a jug of water from his backpack, and he tossed one of the bars to Steven, and the two friends just stood there and ate and passed the jug of water back and forth. When they were done, Mike put the jug, the map, and his book back in his backpack. Then he and Steven left their snowmobiles parked where they were and headed on foot down the rocky path. So both Mike and Steven spent a lot of time outdoors, and so this felt like a pretty easy hike. The altitude wasn't too high, and it wasn't too cold.

It was in the upper 30s, but not frigid. It was basically a perfect early spring day in Colorado for a hike. Soon, the friends headed up an incline towards a ridge at the top of the path, and as they did, Mike felt a rush. The ridge had a spectacular view, and he knew that from the top of it, he should be able to finally see their destination. And so he told Stephen to hold on a second, and then he pulled off his backpack and pulled out his book again and flipped it open. Mike read a few more lines that sounded like this.

Mike picked up his pace, eager to look down. However, when he got to the top of the ridge, the rush he'd been feeling disappeared. So he fumbled for his map and opened it up, and as he stared at it, he began to frown. Stephen asked him if everything was okay, and Mike tried to figure out how to answer.

According to the route they were on, which Mike had planned using the book, there was a specific hill that was supposed to be much closer at this point in the hike. But now, standing on the top of this ridge and looking out, the spot they were headed to looked like it was miles away. But Mike took a steadying breath, calmed himself down, and told Stephen that everything was fine. Then he put the map away and continued to survey the land out in front of them.

From the ridge, their path dipped down and then slowly climbed back up to a higher elevation until it reached another ridge. And so Mike told Steven that once they got through this next part of the hike and got to that other ridge, then they would be within striking distance of that hill. Mike could see that Steven didn't look too worried. So Mike just handed him another candy bar, took a swig from the water bottle, and then led the way down this new part of the path.

And within a few minutes, Mike started feeling excited again. He'd come this far. All he had to do now was just be patient a little while longer.

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By the time the friends hit the next ridge, the sun had begun to set. Mike didn't know how much time had passed, but now, surveying out from this ridgeline, he was starting to feel worried. Because this hill they were heading towards still did not look any closer.

He could feel his legs starting to ache and he was getting tired. He looked over at Steven, and even though Steven didn't say anything, Mike could tell he was getting pretty worn down too. Mike pulled the map out of his backpack again, but it felt futile. He had thought he knew exactly what he was doing, but clearly this was a much further journey than he'd realized. And when Mike put the map in his backpack and looked inside of it, he suddenly felt this pit in his stomach.

When they'd left on their snowmobiles earlier that day, Mike had thought this trip would only take a few hours. And because of that, he and Steven had decided to travel very light. No tent, no fire starting materials, and barely any food. And so now, looking inside of his backpack, Mike saw that they'd already gone through the few candy bars and all the water they had brought. All he had left was the book. At this point, Mike felt mad at himself.

He told Steven that he must have just really badly miscalculated because obviously they were not anywhere closer to reaching this hill. And now that it was getting dark and cold out and they had no food or supplies, Mike didn't see any other option but to abandon the quest. And so Mike turned away from the view of the hill off in the distance that he now knew he was not going to reach.

Maybe he'd been wrong this whole time. Maybe this book really was totally dangerous and written by an actual madman and, you know, didn't contain the secrets that Mike was sure it must. Maybe he really had dragged his friend Steven out here on a fool's errand. But Mike knew he couldn't spend any time worrying about any of that. Instead, he needed to figure out what they were going to do. It was getting late, and he and Steven were now miles away from their snowmobiles.

Without saying much, the two men packed up their stuff, promptly turned around, and began the hike back. However, pretty quickly, the sun dipped below the horizon, and the temperature felt like it dropped immediately. The men had only worn hoodies and light jackets, because they had dressed for a pleasant day with temperatures in the upper 30s. But now, the wind and the cold just cut through their clothes.

The two men sped up, hoping that by moving quickly that would kind of warm them up. But the wind was quickly going from just being strong to being this howling storm-level wind. Eventually, Mike shouted to Steven that there was just no way they could make it back in this weather. And so he pulled his phone out of his pocket, hoping maybe he could call 911. But when he tried to dial, nothing happened. His phone had no service. And so Steven took out his phone and he tried, but he also didn't have service.

And so with the wind howling all around them, they tried to get to higher ground to see if maybe that would make a difference, but their phones still didn't work. And by now, Mike and Steven were just totally physically wearing themselves out here. I mean, they're panicking, they're running around. It's been a long day of hiking. I mean, this is a bad situation. This was exactly the scenario the park service had warned Mike about weeks earlier.

Mike felt totally sick that he'd ignored the warning and now led him and his friend into danger. However, as Mike was looking around wondering what they were going to do, he saw a solution. He got close to Steven's ear so Steven could hear him over the howling wind and he said that their best bet was to hunker down in the trees that surrounded the ridge. The trees would block a lot of the wind and they could just rough it out for the night and then in the morning, once conditions improved, they could hike the rest of the way back.

Now, both men knew this was going to be a very unpleasant way to spend the night, but what other choice did they have? So, starting to feel really scared, the shivering, aching, and exhausted men walked down into the trees. The following morning, March 19th, 2020, Mike woke up feeling very delirious, and immediately he felt ice and snow pelting his face. They were in the middle of a huge storm. He looked over and saw Stephen was also awake, and he looked miserable.

Over the previous night, a huge snowstorm that they had not seen on the forecast had blown in and basically blocked any chance they would have to make it back to safety. Mike pulled out his phone, hoping miraculously he now had a signal, but there was still nothing. And so all the two friends could do now was just sit there and try to wait out the storm. Now, as cold and awful as this was, Mike knew that a lot of times these storms in late winter and early spring in this part of the world were very quick.

And so maybe once the ice and snow passed, the temperature would warm back up and they'd at least be able to make it back to a spot that had cell service. However, as the day went on, the storm did not prove to be quick and the cold just kept getting worse and worse. Mike couldn't stop shivering and he started to feel like he was struggling to breathe. And if that wasn't bad enough, hunger pains had also begun to drive both of them crazy.

All they'd had to eat in two full days was just a couple of candy bars. And so at some point that afternoon, purely out of desperation, Mike began digging up chunks of ice and snow all around him and began shoveling them into his mouth as if they were food. But as he chewed, he felt something warm running down his chin, and he realized it was blood. The ice was cutting his lips and gums. Mike spit the blood out onto the white snow-covered ground all around them. He wiped his face and then just sat back down.

eating ice was not an option. Mike didn't bother pulling out his book to look through it. He knew it didn't contain anything that would help him or his friend get out of the mess they were in. At this point, Mike was just worried about Beth, home alone and waiting for him. Mike loved her so much and believed so completely that he could find this treasure and change their lives, that he had never really listened to Beth when she told him all the time that she didn't want the treasure, she just wanted him.

But instead, Mike had always listened to the author of this book. Mike and Steve did their best to try to keep each other's spirits up. But the cold, the hunger, and the growing dehydration made it too difficult to focus. Eventually, they both began to drift in and out of consciousness.

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To start your ad-free listening journey, download the Amazon Music app for free or head to amazon.com slash ballin. That's amazon.com slash b-a-l-l-e-n. Dive into uninterrupted true crime stories today. Two days after heading out on their snowmobiles, so on March 20th, Mike and Steven were still hunkered down by the trees, trying to shield themselves from the elements. By this point, they'd lost all sense of time, and they both were delirious.

However, all of a sudden on this day, they heard something that gave them hope for the first time since the storm had started. It was the sound of a helicopter. The men forced themselves up to their feet and they hustled through the snow into the small clearing and they looked up at the sky and waved their arms over their heads, but there was no helicopter. And so they realized if there had been a helicopter, they must have missed it. It must have already flown by. However, this didn't discourage them.

To them, the helicopter meant there must be a search and rescue team out looking for them. They just had to hold on for a bit longer and they'd be saved. And so for the rest of that day and into the night, Mike and Steven just sat there in that clearing, hoping the helicopter would come back. But it didn't. However, in the middle of that night, Mike suddenly woke up, but this time not because of ice and snow pelting his face. Instead, he woke up because it suddenly felt warm.

He looked around him and he realized the storm had finally ended. He and Steven had made it through. Mike started to laugh out loud out of pure joy because he knew that now everything was going to be okay. He had been right all along. He just had to be patient and trust the book. After all, the author of the book had acknowledged that this quest would be difficult.

One section, which Mike could recite by heart, read, So hear me all and listen good. Your effort will be worth the cold. If you are brave and in the wood, I give you title to the gold. Grinning, Mike stood up in the middle of the clearing and stared up at the sky. He knew any minute now, another helicopter would pass overhead. Around 1 p.m. the following day, March 21st, a helicopter pilot flew low across a large swath of land in Dinosaur National Monument.

This pilot was a member of the search and rescue team that was out looking for Mike and Steven. Mike's girlfriend Beth had called the police when Mike didn't come home. The weather had made the search very difficult, especially from the air. But now that the snow had stopped and the wind had died down, this pilot felt confident that maybe he could actually see the missing hikers if he just flew around the area where they had gone missing. As the pilot flew along, he looked down at the ground below.

Now, there was a layer of mist that covered most of the area, but overall, the visibility was still much better than it had been during the storm. And then suddenly, the pilot thought he saw movement on the ground. He banked his helicopter and slowly descended to try to get a better view, and as he did, he looked down through the mist that was beginning to part, and as he saw what was down there, he quickly grabbed his radio. There, in the clearing right beneath him, was one of the hikers, waving up enthusiastically at the sky.

The pilot called it in over his radio and then before long he had landed as other members of the search and rescue team arrived at the same spot. They quickly provided first aid to the hiker and they discovered that other than being cold and a bit dehydrated, he was okay. But when they asked him what he was doing way out here and where his hiking partner was, the man just kept on trying to tell them about some kind of book.

This book, the book Mike was carrying with him, was called The Thrill of the Chase, and the author was a man named Forrest Fenn. So for most of his life, Forrest Fenn was known as a famous art dealer. He owned a gallery 500 miles south of Dinosaur National Monument in New Mexico, and he had a reputation for being able to track down rare pieces of art that nobody else could find. And so because of this, people called him a real-life Indiana Jones.

However, late in Forrest's life, he started to get weird. He stopped spending as much time at his art gallery and began spending a lot of time in the woods. He became increasingly obsessed with his legacy and with the stories in the adventure books that he'd read when he was young, like Treasure Island, Robin Hood, and The Legend of King Arthur. And also, he started writing. And what he wrote was his book, The Thrill of the Chase, which was kind of a memoir, except that it was totally insane.

Because in it, Forrest Fenn said he'd filled a literal treasure chest with $1.5 million worth of gold and jewels and hidden it somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. And in this book, he wrote a cryptic poem that was supposed to contain nine clues that would lead the reader to the gold. When the book was published in 2010, it created what may have been the biggest treasure hunt in American history. But this treasure hunt did not result in anyone getting rich.

Instead, over the course of a decade, hundreds of people searched the Rocky Mountains looking for the gold, but nobody could find it. And also, four people who went out searching for it died. And so as a result of that, officials began begging Forrest Fenn to call off his treasure hunt before more people died. But Forrest refused. Both Beth and Stephen didn't believe in the treasure. They thought this whole thing was a hoax.

However, they knew Mike absolutely believed this treasure was real. And by following this book into the wilderness looking for the treasure, Mike was actually just putting himself in potentially mortal danger. And so really the only reason Steven agreed to go with Mike on this quest was not to go find treasure, but you know, to support his friend and also try to keep Mike safe. However, it would turn out this quest was going to be far more hazardous than either men could have anticipated.

Early on the morning of March 21st, when Mike woke up and felt that warmth all over his body that signaled to him that he and Steven had survived the storm, he stood up in that clearing where they had seen the helicopter and for a moment he was happy and excited he was going to get out of here. But very quickly, his happiness faded. Because it was not just warmth he was feeling, he was now feeling hot. It was so hot that Mike began to feel like his skin was on fire.

He had no idea what was happening or why the temperature was rising so quickly, but there was no time to think. Mike ripped off his jacket and hoodie and threw them on the ground, but the burning only intensified. So he peeled off his shirt and tossed that aside too. But now he was so hot that he was sweating and becoming delirious. In a total panic, Mike just lay down on the ground so his skin was right up against the snow, hoping that would finally cool him off. And it did.

Slowly, the burning subsided, and with great relief, Mike closed his eyes. When that helicopter pilot touched down in the clearing, he found Steven, not Mike.

It would turn out that heat that Mike had felt that morning that he thought meant they were through the storm and were about to be saved, it was caused by hypothermia, which can actually cause a paradoxical burning sensation and also hallucinations and often causes people suffering from late-stage hypothermia to rip off their clothes just moments before they die. After locating Stephen, a faction of searchers went off looking for Mike, and they would find his frozen body among the trees, naked from the waist up.

Stephen was ultimately airlifted out of the park and would not suffer from any lasting physical injuries. Mike would become the fifth and final victim of Forrest Fenn's book. Because, three months after Mike's death in June of 2020, a man named Jack Stoof actually found Forrest Fenn's treasure. It was hidden in the mountains of Wyoming, over 350 miles from where Mike had been searching. And it was literally gold worth $1.3 million.

And so Mike had been right. The treasure was real. He just hadn't been looking in the right place. A quick note about our stories. They are all based on true events, but we sometimes use pseudonyms to protect the people involved and some details are fictionalized for dramatic purposes.

Thank you for listening to the Mr. Ballin Podcast. If you enjoyed today's stories and you're looking for more bone-chilling content, be sure to check out all of our studios' podcasts. There's this one, of course, the Mr. Ballin Podcast, and there's Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries, Bedtime Stories, Wartime Stories, Run Full, Redacted, and Late Nights with Nexpo. All you have to do is search for Ballin Studios wherever you get your podcasts.

To watch hundreds more stories just like this one, head over to our YouTube channel, which is just called Mr. Ballin. So that's going to do it. I really appreciate your support. Until next time, see ya.