Treasure hunting for $4,000 in regional parks

If physical fitness, tranquillity, or a deep, abiding love of nature aren’t motivation enough to get outdoors, how about $2,820?

Paul and Jeff DuVilla, brothers who grew up in Hammonton, Atlantic County, have turned a passion as old as time — treasure hunting — into a modern business they call Veil Hunts, complete with online clues, that users subscribe to for a fee.

The money accumulates in a jackpot that’s awarded when users find the “veil,” which resembles a golden crab shell, that the DuVilla brothers hide on public land in the region. More than 1,000 people participated in the first hunt earlier this year, and the final prize was close to $4,000 when it was finally discovered at the Watchung Reservation in Union County, N.J.

As of Wednesday, Veil’s second treasure hunt had a jackpot of $2,820 with six days remaining.

“A lot of this started because I sit behind a desk at my job, thinking about all the adventures I’m not taking,” Jeff said earlier this week in West Fairmount Park.

The current treasure, based on Veil’s ever-closing circle, appears to be in the Philadelphia area. The DuVillas chose to discuss the hunt in Fairmount Park because it has elements they look for when choosing to hide treasure: public land with some historical relevance. Jeff pointed to a tree and an overgrown patch of grass.

“Right here, where we’re standing, the arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty was standing during the 1876 World’s Fair,” he said.

The DuVillas incorporate historical images like that into their clues, giving users more context about the direction they should head in. They also generate images via artificial intelligence to combat reverse-image searches.

While there are a slew of treasure hunts like Veil popping up across the globe, the quest for buried treasures never really went away. The DuVilla brothers, like many others, were sparked by the famous “Fenn Treasure hunt.”

That hunt was orchestrated by art dealer Forrest Fenn, who announced that he’d buried treasure in the Rocky Mountains in 2010. It took a decade to solve, and people died trying to find it.

The DuVilla brothers aren’t looking to send subscribers into danger, but recommend some insect repellent and, perhaps, brushing up on what poison ivy looks like.

The goal, they said, is to get outside and have a little fun.

Still, as their subscribers grow and the jackpots get bigger, they might have to become more cautious when hiding the veil.

“We wouldn’t want people to follow us on a hike or something and follow our car to figure out where we might be going,” Paul said.

Subscribers to Veil pay a $20 fee. There is a free membership, but it comes with fewer clues. If someone who has never heard of Veil or had no intention of looking for the treasure stumbles upon it, they can win, too.

Unlike the pirate booty of yesteryear, though, the Veil isn’t filled with cash. There’s a code that’s redeemed via email.

The DuVillas said they hope to start Veil hunts nationwide.