Found Treasures: Six Questions with Finders of the Three Heartland Stones of The Ruby Hunt by TC Treasure

The following Six Questions segment captures everything about the true adventures, excitement, joy, challenge, camaraderie, and victory, about this incredible hobby of Treasure Hunting. The successful journey and ending to The Ruby Hunt by ‘Johannes’ are told by those who lived the tale, and now have memories for a lifetime! You couldn’t ask for anything better or more inspiring. The Ruby Hunt began in January 2021. Each month a clue was released to further searchers on to the discoveries. In November of 2021, these clues came together for Three RUBY’s to be found, and the $750 cash Treasure Prizes, each, to be claimed.

What is conveyed, however, is the Treasure was also in the Adventures! And Priceless! I love sharing these stories, and am so honored and grateful to both TC Treasure/Johannes, who was the creator of The Ruby Hunt, and to the Finders of the Heartland Stones, for sharing their stories. Thank you – ENJOY!

Six Questions with both the Finders and TC TREASURE:

1Q) First let’s hear from the creator of the Ruby Hunt—TC Treasure’s “Johannes!” It was an excellent, challenging, exciting, and successful hunt for all involved. How was it for you? What did you enjoy most about seeing searchers anxiously awaiting the month’s clues and trying to solve them? Were you aware when searchers were close to a discovery? And now that the hunt is over, what would you say was your favorite clue in the making?

Thanks so much! The Ruby Hunt exceeded my expectations in just about every category, and was pretty much everything I could hope for in a first go at writing for a larger search area. Expanding the TC Treasure community into the greater Midwest has been a real learning experience, and a definite challenge; it’s no easy thing, trying to stay one step ahead of so many wily and perceptive Seekers! I myself was mostly in the dark about folks’ progress, but a handful of hunters reached out to give me some sense of how things were going—and overall I was pleasantly surprised at each turn to see things playing out more or less as expected, with hunters stumped on the cipher, but right on top of the rest in fairly short order each month.

It’s tough to pick a favorite clue, though folks were particularly receptive to Clue #4 – “The Western Road”—in which hunters played a recreation of the classic 1980’s computer game “The Oregon Trail” to discover hints about the mysteries of the Heartland Stones. Clue #2 – “The Ballad of Dusk & Dawn” was also a favorite of mine; I got to work with Charlie Smith—a brilliant musician from Minneapolis—who put my words to his music, and in doing so brought the world of the Seekers to life. The first time he played me his original demo was an absolutely magical moment.

Then of course, there’s the final piece of the puzzle: In the Epilogue – “The Bootlegger’s Daughter”, the last few connections of the Ruby Hunt’s central mystery are finally laid bare—while laying the groundwork for a new adventure: a “spiritual successor” to the Ruby Hunt, so to speak…

2Q) Question for Matt- Finder of Ruby #1:

Congrats, Matt! on taking down the first of the Heartland Stones back in November of 2021 at Berea Falls. Can you share some of the adventures and what it felt like to discover the first hidden gem? What clue was solved that took it from an armchair hunt to a boots on the ground hunt for the claiming of the prize?!

First of all, thank you for having me to chat about the find! It was certainly a highlight of my treasure hunting career. As you likely know, I have a decent amount of experience with the local hunting scene in Minnesota prior to moving to Kansas for work.

For me, the workup of the clues and noodling almost overtakes the find in terms of satisfaction. Clue 3 gave me the first hint that a jewel could possibly be in Ohio, with the postcard image depicting several state creatures (cardinal, whitetail deer). The “Western Road” game clue the following month sealed it, as the game ends with the party arriving in the Firelands of Ohio. An early nod to the general hiding area could be gleaned from the extra care Johannes took to depicting the Rocky River in the game. Clue 9, the Ohio-themed newspaper clipping, provided the “smoking gun” of Berea Falls with the remaining letters after solving the word find spelling “SEARCH BEREA FALLS” once anagrammed out.

The phone number on the newspaper, when written in reverse, gave a latitude line (41.37742) which essentially lined up directly with the treasure. Finding the ruby at that point pretty much became a matter of when I could take time off work: I timed it with the release of the 11^th clue in case it would be helpful, which it didn’t turn out to be for this particular ruby. Nothing can match the excitement of arriving on the scene and seeing the exact scenery depicted in the postcard of clue 3. Johannes hid the treasure well, as it took me about 4-5 hours of cumulative searching to find it. Treasure hunting can be a labor of love, as it was raining/sleeting the entire time I was hunting – I still have the mud-stained jeans to prove it!

3Q) Question for Josh- Finder of Ruby #2:

Congrats, Josh! on scooping up the second Heartland Stone which was hidden in Barnes, Wisconsin. Can you share some of the aha moments of solving clues? What would you say was the most challenging part of the hunt? As a successful finder of treasures, do you think you will ever lose the thrill of the Chase?

I almost always hunt with a team of friends in Minnesota. We have slowly built up this team from our normal group of friends, a mixture of college and post-college friends. Some may describe us as friends of wives and wives of friends. We have several local finds, including 2 Pioneer Press Medallion Hunt finds ($10,000 prize each), a handful of TC Treasure finds (various prize amounts), a few local community medallion hunt finds, and the Copper Dan Magic Box find up in Tofte, MN.

The Ruby Hunt was unlike many that I have done, in that it started Jan 1 and we didn’t end up finding the Ruby until the end of November. We had so many small aha moments along the way throughout the clues, but the actual aha wasn’t until the 11th clue in November. One tough part about this hunt was that we weren’t sure which clue was for which ruby, or whether a clue might have references to all 3 rubies. We were only really able to travel a few hours, so we had been hoping that the clues we were solving would eventually lead us to a ruby in our striking distance. I remember HOURS spent poring over that dang cipher. We never cracked that until the clue that came out after the finds. Similarly, I spent a ton of time trying to find the fire tower that is visible in clue #9. I emailed a lot of people involved in the forest service or Wisconsin forest history trying to find that and could never track it down. It turns out it was an old photo in an obscure book you can only really buy if you are in Barnes, WI.

We had many theories for the different clues along the way. Early on we thought there must be one in Hot Springs, SD for a number of reasons (wrong). My personal favorite solve (also wrong) was lining up the ink blot on clue #8 with the Tevatron in IL using Google Earth, and then looking at where the other ink blot landed, which happened to be in a park. I was utterly convinced there was a ruby there. The letter even said “Welcome to the fold!” and the ink blot is right on a fold in the paper. I made a video at the time illustrating this solve:

Later in the hunt, I was sure there was a ruby somewhere around Green Bay because of several different references in the clues. One of my biggest aha moments in the hunt was finding the Rock of the Colossus in Berea Falls, along with a fake account Johannes had set up and created a place on Google Maps and posted the actual photo that was used in the postcard clues. Too far for me to go get, but it was fun to know 100% where one of them was located.

Our final aha moment that led to us planning the retrieval was that we had started looking into Barnes, WI because of clue 11 being addressed to Ruby Barnes. I am still kicking myself because so many of the town history blurbs on the website match up so well with the earlier clues, but I just missed them all year. Then in that clue we got Bingo, the name of the original post office in Barnes, and we saw that another post office was called Fresh Air, matching up with the reference in clue 10. We also saw that there is a historical person actually called Ruby Barnes, the daughter of the founder of that town. We spent a few days just scouring the area on google maps, not really sure where to look. We had Ruby Island from the earlier clue, but figured that the Geneva one was on an island, so Barnes didn’t necessarily have to be. Finally, we found the weirdly shaped island on Upper Eau Claire Lake. One of my hunting partners, Zak, mentioned it was a really weird shape and when he said that, it was like a lightning strike moment for me. I had seen a weird shape in the postcard that really blended into the rocks. It ended up being an exact match and we knew where we had to look.

The story of us going to retrieve it is really fun, but I will save that for question 6. To answer your last question, I don’t think I will personally ever lose the thrill of the chase. I have a 2 year old son and have already gotten him out to look with me for several different local treasure hunts, and he has a couple finds of his own under his belt (video below). Any time we are near some woods, he wants to go “look for treasure.” I hope I can do this hobby with him for many years to come.

4Q) Question for Debby- Finder of Ruby #3:

Congrats Debby! for quickly closing out the Ruby Hunt with the discovery of the last Heartland Stone in Geneva, Illinois! Had the clues directed you right to the exact location? When you were traveling to find the Hidden Ruby did you feel any doubt of finding it? Can you share how the clues came together for the exciting find?

Thank you Jenny, I don’t think I would count it as “quick” lol, but it was definitely an enjoyable and educational hunt! I believe it will be easiest for me to answer your questions in reverse order given the unique build of The Ruby Hunt. TC is a very gifted and entertaining hunt creator, he definitely kept us guessing not only on the location, but which clue went to which of the 3 different locations and did some clues apply to more than one?

One of our exciting moments was when Derek (my other half) found a Morse code message in the P.S. portion of the postcard (.. .– -. .. .–.) “I W N I 1” backward: 1 in WI! When talking to TC after our find in Geneva, he was confused about the Morse code clue and asked to see it – come to find out, it was not an intentional clue at all and we all got a good laugh over it – yet one more layer of difficulty to treasure hunting!! Lol (We worked heavily with Josh in regards to the WI location so I am sure he will go over the clues for that find. There is so much more to solving this hunt than we could possibly put here.)

There were so many clues through out, I know we did not find them all. Some were very subtle, some a bit more obvious. We had actually gone to the Geneva/Batavia area at least 3 times. The first time we drove down was an “exploratory” trip. We were heading to coordinates found on Clue #5 near the Fox River which is a visual match to the rip along the bottom of this same clue. And to what we believed to be the point direction of the Trevatron ( circular stain on the Clue #8 letter). Our GPS took us to the wrong park (operator error J ) and redirected itself twice . So by complete accident we ended up driving right past the electrical towers pictured on Clue #3, the moment I saw them I hollered at Derek to pull over! I scared the bejeezers out of him, lol. I was so excited!! We parked the car, unloaded the dogs and started walking the trail by the lines to see where they led… We searched all over along the east side of the river in Batavia and the small local park on island in the river until the sun started to set. We headed home knowing we had the right area, just needed something a bit more exact.

We started to review clues and research the area. On our second trip to the area we went to Geneva after realizing that on the bottom of Clue #5 by the super scramble ARCHES **** ?VENGE was an anagram for SEARCH GENEVA. We searched Island park, we liked the Old Mill Sculpture by the parking lot, it tied in with “Grindstone”. We searched the sculpture, the bridges, and the park. We tried to line up the tower in the picture from Clue #3 there was a spot that looked pretty close in Island Park by the Pavilion. But we had to call it a day it was a warm and our pups needed a rest, so we headed back home… more research.

Clue #11 came out and that kind of cemented the park with the shadowed tree pictured just above the Fox, it was identical to the metal sculpture that was in Island Park, the Fox for the Fox River, the Viking ship symbol threw us off a bit, as that is private property and further north, but still in Geneva. We still didn’t know exactly where in the park. Another searcher, Peggy got ahold of me to look around the Geneva area about the same time one of Josh’s friends contacted him about the WI location. So we met up by Island park early in the morning with Peggy and Candy while Josh hopped in a canoe with his guys to look in WI (I am so glad it was him, not me paddling out to an island!! Lol).

Peggy and Candy and their pup braved the cold with us for a couple of hours but had to head home. Me and Derek were persistent. We searched that WHOLE island park, poking and prodding, searching around every tree, and under anything we could lift up, look in, or under. We took a break for lunch and heard from Josh they found the WI Ruby. Hooray! I had to give him a hard time and let him know how appreciative we were that we had access to warmth, great hot food, and bathroom facilities…lol. (even sent him pictures of our fancy lunch lol)

Back to the park… We had found pictures online the night before and we were sure it was there… somewhere. We realized the Larry Gabriel Bridge was Angel’s Arch = Rainbow Bridge (LGB), there was an IDENTICAL picture to the postcard Clue #3, and this strange upshot of a tree. We found the tree but I poked all over around under it and couldn’t find anything. It was getting dark, my phone was dead, so we headed back to the car and started to head home. I knew it had to be under that tree. Derek could tell it bothered me that we were so close. Before we got too far, I asked if we could go back, just for one more look. He gladly turned around, we parked, and busted out the flashlights.

It was pitch black, we had a hard time relocating the tree, but he found it and called me over. I had a handheld weed puller tool with me for prodding, there was one V in the roots that I kept hitting something solid, but wooden – I got a bit more aggressive with it than I did the first time around and a piece of wood came up, under that wood was a black string and a little edge of a rusty red button… I started digging in with my fingers and pulled out a little black bag, which held the Ruby, a pin, and a note. SUCCESS!!! We contacted TC, Josh, and Candy and Peggy… all three Rubies were now accounted for!! We were so excited and so glad to have gone back… it was our first ever find, and a VERY memorable and special one to be sure!

Clue outline:

Prologue: In honor of their roots/their spirit lives in the soil, some say they’re in the trees – wedged in a V at the base of a tree.

Clue #3: (1) the electrical tower, overhanging tree branches and tree line- view from hide location (2) the cardinal – state bird, white tail deer – state animal (3) river nearby (actually all around).

Clue #5: (1) Coordinates – July 4 1954 (ended up being wrong, but got us to the area) (2) Super Scramble: Island, Bridge, Grindstone – Old mill sculpture with a grindstone in the parking area, across the bridge, to Island Park (3) bottom rip of page- match to the Fox River (4) puzzle, yesterdays answer: ARCHES ***?VENGE – Search Geneva

Clue #7: the unintentional clue – PS section of the post card, punctuation dots and slashes – (.. .– -. .. .–.) I w n I 1 – backwards is 1 in WI

Clue #8: (1) Circle ink blotch with pointer – The Trevatron, it points to the Geneva area (2) Box 41-831 – Coordinates 41(8)831 and the bottom phone number 202-293-138? – backwards (8)8.319 (3) Illinois

Clue #9 Mentions the Trevatron also in retrospect, the words in the word search – buried, Island

Clue #10 Planting Gems – buried

Clue #11 (1) Fox by the river – Fox River (2) above the fox a shadowy photo shopped tree symbol – the metal sculpture in Island Park (3) Weston – a place that was between Geneva and the Trevatron (4) Viking ship emblem – logo of Friends of the Viking ship, located in Geneva

Other outside clues: Photos found online that matched up with the location – posting party usually had a name that tied in to the hunt.

The story tells most of what revolved around the Geneva find – the clues did go from macro to micro for the location.

5Q) Question for TC Treasure:

It must be truly gratifying when searchers find your hidden treasures, and enjoy the hunt you put your heart and soul into. Will you share what it feels like as a creator to know you offered such a thrilling and memorable time for not only those who found the Rubies, but all those who took up the challenge?

The stories of hunters’ adventures are amazing to hear; to have any hand at all in such fun is just an absurd privilege—and truly humbling.

I heard from a rookie team in Indianapolis—two sisters—that went on a weekend road trip in search of the Berea stone. And though they went home empty-handed, they took great relish in the opportunity to reconnect and take some quality time away from their busy lives—which, in the end, is really what treasure hunting is all about for me: getting out into nature, exploring the unknown, and creating cherished memories with the ones you love.

Nothing could be more thrilling to me than knowing I played a role in helping people make those memories; it’s a very special feeling—and I’m so grateful to the hunters for sharing with me such a tremendous gift.

6Q) Question for Each of the Finders of the Heartland Stones:

What did you enjoy most about the treasure hunt?

Matt answers:

One thing I particularly enjoyed about the Ruby Hunt, and treasure hunts that Johannes puts on in general, is the story woven through the clues. What at first glance seems disjointed, random even becomes clear as the hunt progresses. Every aspect of the clues, from word choice, order of words, etc. have a clear explanation. Once a hunter becomes comfortable with the ambiguity, the goal of the game shifts to then attempting to figure out the larger picture. There have been several times during these hunts where, after days of banging your head against the wall, you have the “a-ha!” moment and everything comes together. In my opinion, one of the marks of a great cluemaster is the ability to design a hunt to build that tension – because the payoff the hunter gets after breaking the clues is a rush like no other.

Josh answers:

Although the prizes weren’t the highest we have looked for, this was one of the best hunts I have personally participated in. The amount of effort and passion that went into the clues and presentation of everything was really great to see. When someone puts that much work and love into something, it’s really easy to get swept up in wanting to solve the puzzles. The variety of clue styles, the multiple different methods for solving any one of the ruby locations, the history, etc was all so fun. There was even an original song created for this hunt! Truly next level.

The thing I enjoyed most though was the memories created with my friends. We spent a lot of time chatting about this hunt and solving different aspects of it. When we eventually pinned down a location, people were really excited to go on the adventure to get it. It truly was an adventure and one of the tougher retrievals we have had.

It turned out that the ruby was hidden on an actual island in the middle of a lake with no access besides by boat. We ended up solving the location in November, which is an unfortunate month for northern Wisconsin. We weren’t exactly sure if the lake was frozen or not, so we emailed some people in the area to ask and found that parts of the lake were frozen (including the bay containing the public boat launch) but that the main part was wide open. One of our team members, Matt, has a canoe and so we decided to load that up on my Forester and 4 of us (myself, Matt, Zak, and Craig) hit the road early in the morning.

I have never tried to tie down a canoe on my vehicle, and it turns out I don’t have any actual anchor points for that. So we spent a few hours trying to Macguyver a way to tie this thing down securely and eventually finally got on the road. About 15 minutes into our drive, I noticed that the tip of the canoe had drifted a few inches off of center which seemed like a bad sign. So we pulled over and did a better job tying it down. Our drive was around 3 hours, made a little longer by me not wanting to go 70 mph with a canoe questionably attached to my vehicle.

We were serenaded along the way by the Spotify playlist that Johannes had created for the hunt. Anyways, we finally made it to Barnes and found an accessible spot into the lake. It was quite cold that day, right around 25 degrees and the wind was absolutely whipping. I’m sure we were quite the spectacle to the local Northwoods Wisconsin residents – 4 guys piling into one canoe in freezing temperatures in November. It was a fairly tough paddle out to the island, probably made tougher by how low we were riding in the water. When we finally made it, we realized the island was quite a bit bigger than we thought. It’s split into 2 different sections, both heavily wooded with tall pines. We got there at about 10:15am and searched for 2.5 hours or so with no luck.

Like the very smart people we are, we didn’t even think of bringing food or water with us, because we figured it would be a quick retrieval. We were getting pretty hungry and thirsty and considered heading back, but we started focusing on trying to find the exact perspective that the postcard photo was taken from and lined that up. It took us a bit, but we found the location, and focused our search around there. By about 1 PM I had turned up the ruby in an old rotted out stump, surrounded by birch bark. The paddle back was definitely harder since we were going into the wind, but much more enjoyable having successfully found the ruby. A real adventure to go get this thing, and in the end after splitting the prize money 4 ways, it didn’t end up being all that much, but that was never the reason we did it anyways. I had an awesome time with my buddies and created some memories I will never forget.

Debby answers:

Other than enjoying everything, except that crazy Pig Pen cipher…lol… it was the journey, visiting locations, learning the history, and getting outdoors. Oh, and actually finding it!!