To validate this data point, I used Google’s reverse image lookup on the vehicle which tells it’s an M939 – a retired US military vehicle without a front license plate.

Wouldn’t you know it, Arizona and New Mexico are two states that don’t need front license plates.

But which one was it?

Using the same method as before, I took a screenshot of the rock formations and dropped them into the search engine. Immediately, they began matching to popular photo spots in New Mexico.

Alright, New Mexico it was.

While I was able to hone in on New Mexico, the thing is, NM is big. To narrow things down, I relied on an obscure pole. Remember that picture with the truck? To the right of that frame is a white and red pole; turns out a pole with a red cap denotes a gas pipeline.

A quick search showed only about 10 major gas plants. Much more manageable.

I outlined a triangle using an arial view of the road from the video and began matching that against roads near those gas plants. It wasn’t long until I found it.

Cabezon Road.

Following the road, I kept going until I recognized a fissure; the end of the video, and the final drop point. As per the rules, I would need to send an email with my name and heading to Vollebak for validation.

My email was simple with the subject: “Enroute”The body read: Heading, 35.11181, –106.800662

With Vollebak’s support team online 24/7, I got a response within minutes.”We’ve got a man on the ground for final mile support,” enclosed was his phone number.

Dialling the number, I informed him who I was and requested a verification check on my coordinates. The response returned: “thanks Nick, your coordinates are good.”

And that’s how in 4 hours, with 2 AI tools, an email and a phone call – I solved the 48 hour treasure hunt.