Imagine not just inheriting a private island, but an island with a secret hoard of buried treasure! Here’s one Michigan teen’s discovery that his eccentric grandfather left him more than he dreamed… he just has to find it.

The idea of an island with a hidden cache of buried treasure is an old one, and ingrained in popular mythology by centuries of tall tales of pirates and their chests of ill-gotten gold. Sandy Caribbean islands have long been rumoured to contain secret stores of plundered booty, particularly in the Bahamas, where the expansive 700-odd islands provided perfect spots for pirates like Henry Morgan and the infamous Blackbeard to attack merchant ships traversing the Windward Passage. Even more northern climates have their share of tall treasure tales, like Oak Island in Nova Scotia, claimed to be home to millions of dollars in loot hidden by pirates (or some speculate, a secret society like the Knights Templar). And sometimes, buried treasure can have a far more common origin… but the hunt is just as compelling.

Josh* wasn’t close to his grandfather and in fact, he had met him just a handful of times in his 17 years. He remembers him as a taciturn, intimidating man, who seemed to speak only when he felt it absolutely necessary. Stubborn and highly traditional, Samuel* disapproved of his daughter Susan’s* marriage to a man from outside of their religious faith, and had retreated from involvement in their family life. Susan said that the rift between her family and father was heartbreaking, but that he’d always had a soft spot for his only grandson, who shared his strong personality and love of Michigan’s forests and lakes. Although he hadn’t seen his grandson in years before his death in 2007, she said it wasn’t a big surprise when Josh was named the heir to what remained of his grandfather’s estate, including a 36-acre island and more than 80 acres of farmland. But there was something unexpected in the will… a detailed list of antique jewellery and loose gems contained “in the thermos.”

But there were no thermoses to be found in her father’s assisted-living condo, or any safety deposit boxes at the local banks. In fact, there was no indication at all of where this portion of Josh’s inheritance was. “It was that Great Depression mindset,” Susan said. “He didn’t trust banks, he always scrimped and saved even though we had more than most people in the area. And while he had inherited a small fortune from his own father, who had been a partner in a Russian jewellery firm before moving to Michigan at the turn of the century, the climate he was raised in just didn’t allow for much ostentation.” But Susan did remember the oblique references her father had always made when she was a child about his “treasure island”. Could this be the location of the thermos? “For the first time,” said Susan, “it really hit me that he wasn’t kidding around. Somewhere on that island must be a rusty old thermos with a literal treasure inside!”

The hunt is on, and while finding Samuel’s hidden thermos of precious gems is far from a sure bet, the family is confident that it will soon turn up somewhere on (or under) the island’s 36 acres. Several wells and the old foundation of the decaying cabin are thought to be prime spots, and the family intends to hire a professional excavator for some of the heavy-duty digging. The clock is ticking, however, because they hope to have the treasure found and the island ready to be put on the market by next summer, and are currently consulting with a private island specialty firm about the island’s marketing. Susan says that Josh has agreed to put the proceeds from the island sale towards a new family home, but if his grandfather’s treasure is found, Josh has (almost) free reign with spending this part of his inheritance.

And what would a 17-year old boy do with windfall that could be as high as $1.4M? Topping his list is sleek black Audi A4, maybe a trip on the Virgin Galactic shuttle (if the price comes down), and he says his dream 18th birthday party would be hiring a private jet to party in Montreal, where he’d have just turned the age of majority. But Josh says it won’t all be fun and games. “Mom keeps saying it’s not as much money as I might think- so I’d better put some of it towards university and get a good job if I want to stay a high roller!”

*The family has requested that all identifying details be changed until the search for the treasure is successfully concluded.

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