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Are the Treasure Boxes Buried in There’s Treasure Inside? What Has Jon Collins-Black Said? Let’s take a look!
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One of the first questions almost every new searcher asks is:
“Are the treasure boxes buried?”
It’s a natural question. When thinking about treasure, searchers almost immediately think of buried treasure because centuries of stories, books, movies, and pirate legends have made the image of a treasure chest hidden underground one of the most enduring symbols of adventure.
But There’s Treasure Inside is a modern treasure hunt and while some hunts still do bury treasure, Jon Collins-Black has said he didn’t.
In the book – page 240 he writes:
“Also, no treasure box is buried under the ground on public lands. So, there is no need to dig up or disturb public lands in this way.”
Jon Collins-Black has continually stated since the book’s release:
“The boxes are hidden, not buried.”
Jon has remained remarkably consistent across multiple interviews and news stories on this. He has also said:
- No digging is required.
- A shovel is not needed.
- A metal detector is not required.
But searchers still question if a box could be covered by leaves or what happens if nature changes a hiding place over time?
Can the treasure boxes be buried over time?
What has JCB said about this topic?
Q) Where the boxes are, there’s probably growth and leaves over years. Like Forest would say, every year it’s not found, it’s going to get a little harder. Do you think that’s the case with your boxes as well? -C 10/10/25
Jon answers: No, because I did not bury the box with everything but its lid showing. Right. I mean there were things I learned from Forest’s treasure hunt and that I just didn’t want to do it that way. That’s not a criticism of him. That was very clever what he did, I guess, because he could say he its not technically buried, but no, I did not unearth any ground to put anything inside of the unearthed ground. So like it’s not that way.
In December 2025 he was asked the following questions by Jenny from AutismAdvocate about finding the boxes and possible changes over time
Q) Over time landscapes change, trails and even roads can be widened or narrowed brush grows in off-roads can be reploughed to different sizes and areas that were once open may become harder to see or move through with the shifting material. So for searchers who are trying to interpret clues from your book to match the clues in the real terrain, how much should they factor in natural overgrowth or the changing landscapes, especially when the book says that no bushwhacking is needed?
(Jon comments/asks: Did the book did the book literally say no bushwack? Did I write that in there? No bushwhacking is needed? The host clarified bushwacking was mentioned in the Chivor Emerald story – which Jon remembers.)
Jon continues to answer: Oh, okay. Okay. So that’s a great question. Like, how thick are we going into this? Like, you got a bunch of….. Yeah, I mean…. things do overgrow like but I don’t know. Feel like… I’m trying to think …. I don’t imagine a situation off the top of my head that anything will overgrow more than it already had when I was hiding.
You know, if anything …… mother nature changes things often – clears things out or knocks things down but doesn’t necessarily like grow things more. So, I don’t think that’s going to be an issue. If for some reason it were an issue, I would probably mention it or something, but I don’t think that’s going to be an issue as of now.
How Close to a Treasure Box to See It?
Q) If you can search a spot, will you see it from a certain angle or do you have to like kind of get in there and move things around? I guess because it’s not buried. If there’s not natural overgrowth, you should be able to see it when you get to the vicinity.
A)Yeah. I mean, wow, that’s another good …Well, I mean … everything’s relative, right? I don’t know if I can answer that question, but I think you’ll need to be fairly close to the boxes, I think, to see them. Because I didn’t want them to be seen by accident.
Q) If someone knows the location but is struggling to find the treasure on site, do you have any advice of what would help them see what they’re missing?
A) I would say my only advice is just expand your – make sure that you don’t leave anything you know unseen.
You know ….because here’s the thing …. I think some in previous treasure hunts like there was a big one.. the Forrest Fenn treasure hunt which I was on…. you know there I think there were people who came very close to finding that treasure like probably within you know 20 feet 25 30 feet but they didn’t go close enough –
… and so I think that my advice would just be.. if you’re really certain it’s in an area – spend some time there. You know spend some time there and look at the topography and cover as much ground as you know you can…. do not leave anything left unchecked.