A family affair to solve Treasure Hunt

It was one word that made the difference for the Presswood family.

One word that made the pieces fall into place and make them $1,000 richer. The word: change.

Wednesday evening, Robert Presswood went searching for the 3-by-3-inch medallion hidden by the Nevada Day Treasure Hunt Committee. Under a bush, between two boulders directly in front of the historical marker in the courtyard between the wings of the Nevada State Museum, he fulfilled his quest.

It took 13 clues for Robert, along with his three siblings and father, to locate the medallion.

"The word change was in the last clue and that made me think of the mint and then when we started looking here we noticed that all the other clues fit," said Robert.

The Nevada State Museum is located in the building that formerly housed the Carson City Branch of the U.S. Mint.

For the Presswoods, the hunt was a way to spend time with family and learn about the area.

"It's one thing we do together every year. Every morning we call and get the clues from dad and work on it," Robert said. "You are hoping to find it but you don't think you actually will."

After they got the clue, which was published weekdays in the Nevada Appeal, Robert, 28, Will, 32, Katie, 18, and Kris, 21, would work on the clue during breaks and their lunches and then go out searching potential locations after work.

"We tried Fifth Street by the park, Kings Canyon and we searched a lot around the state Capitol. We drove around a bunch of places but we kept coming back to downtown," Robert said.

This is the first time the Presswoods have found the medallion, but not for lack of trying.

"The last time we were in Genoa looking, we were there the day it was found. The paper came late that day and we didn't get the clue," said Bill Presswood.

The family said their secret is working together to decipher the rhyming clues and search for the treasure.

"We really worked together, we would have someone out looking on the phone with someone else at home on the computer doing research.

Yet the committee still managed to stump even the Presswoods with several of their clues, including the clue involving the 60 bypass, referring to the Kit Carson trail and the 60 historical sites it bypasses.

Committee member Laurie Olson said she was pleased to see a family work together to find the medallion.

"Listening to what you all have talked about, it sounds like what we used to do and that's what we were hoping for," said Olson.

For finding the medallion, the Presswoods were awarded $1,000, a commemorative plaque and a coin minted at the Carson City Mint in the 1800s. They have decided to split the money between the children.

For the family, the hunt will begin again next year as they attempt to become the first family to find the medallion two years in a row.

n Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.