By Tim Binnall
A treasure hunter's search for gold took a perilous turn when he wound up stranded in the California wilderness for four days before finally being rescued. Phoenix resident Brent Lendriet's harrowing misadventure reportedly began on December 23rd when he and his dog journeyed to the Los Padres National Forest in the hopes of finding an apocryphal horde of riches said to be located there. According to a family legend passed down since the 1800s, he explained, a Franciscan monk stashed a staggering "ten-thousand pounds worth of gold" in the rather vast wilderness and, after five previous visits to the area earlier in the year, the treasure hunter was confident that he had finally determined where it could be discovered.
However, his dreams of unearthing the cache of gold were quickly dashed when, while trying to drive to a remote location within the forest, his truck was overwhelmed by a whopping four feet of water that had amassed in the area as a result of recent rainfall. Although he was able to traverse the flood, his vehicle wound up stuck and Lendriet found himself soaking wet and stranded in the wilderness with no means of making it home. "I'm thinking I'm gonna freeze to death and die of exposure out here," he later recalled, "that's how bad it was." To that end, Lendriet indicated that, based on knowledge gleaned from survival shows, he removed his wet clothes and placed them in the back of the truck, where, "the next morning, they're frozen like ice cubes."
Over the next four days, Lendriet and his dog survived on frozen White Castle burgers and cans of soup that he had brought along on the trip. Due to the remote nature of the location, the treasure hunter did not have cell service, though he somehow managed to text his girlfriend, who alerted the authorities. Upon hearing a local sheriff searching for him, Lendriet used a "strobe-type flashlight" to signal his rescuer from a half-mile away, which led to him ultimately being picked up and brought home. "I thought I was on my last day by the time I got rescued," the treasure hunter mused while looking back on his tale of survival.
Despite his agonizing experience over the holiday season, Lendriet intends to continue searching for the gold that he believes is hidden somewhere in the forest. "I think I know where the treasure is," he declared, "I'm very close." That said, having learned his lesson from the last month, he plans to wait several months before resuming the endeavor later this year when the weather is warmer and the area is more accessible. In the meantime, Lendriet says that he celebrated being rescued by feasting on a "fabulous ribeye steak" and revealed that "I also bought one for my dog because he stuck it out with me."