The organizer behind a New Mexico treasure hunt that is believed to have claimed its second life, says he is considering cancelling it after authorities urged him to bring an end to the 'nonsense and insanity'.

Colorado pastor Paris Wallace, 52, went missing more than a week ago searching for the buried treasure left by author Forrest Fenn somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. On Monday, a body was recovered near to Wallace's vehicle.

While the body has not yet been official identified as Wallace, it is becoming increasingly likely that he is now the second person to die while trying to recover the bronze treasure chest which is said to contain 265 gold coins along with gems, rubies and hundreds of gold nuggets.

In January 2016, Randy Bilyeu, 54, disappeared along the Rio Grande River in search of the treasure.

Now authorities are demanding that Fenn retrieves the treasure to bring an end to the 'nonsense and insanity.'

Forrest Fenn (pictured in his Santa Fe, New Mexico home in 2014), the organizer behind a New Mexico treasure hunt that is believed to have claimed its second life, says he is considering cancelling it

'He's putting lives at risk,' said New Mexico's top law enforcement officer, State Police Chief Pete Kassetas, noting that he planned to contact Fenn personally to ask him to call off the hunt.

'That is an option, but I have not made a decision yet,' Fenn told Fox News on Tuesday. 'Today I have received over 200 emails urging me to not call off the hunt, and two that think I should.'

However, he did call the disappearance of Wallace 'tragic' and said he was still considering how to make the hunt safer or whether to simply cancel it entirely.

On Sunday, he issued a statement to CBS This Morning saying: 'My heart and my prayers go out to his family and his church...this is such a tragedy.'

Fenn says he hid the treasure in 2010, and publicized it during an interview with CBS in which he read a poem with clues to the chest's location.

Both Colorado pastor Paris Wallace, 52, (left) and Randy Bilyeu (right) went missing more than a week ago searching for the buried treasure

Wallace's car was found in Pilar by another reader who went looking for him in the area after a friend posted about his disappearance in a forum set-up for the treasure hunters. His backpack and rope was discovered in Espanola later

The 86-year-old encourages readers to follow clues in his two books - Thrill of the Chase and Too Long For Walking - to find the treasure.

The author said he buried the goods in 2010 and that the treasure hunt is his way of encouraging families to get outdoors and spend time together.

He told DailyMail.com: 'It is terrible news that the man has gone missing. I pray that he will be found safe and well.

'If I were 10 years younger I would be out looking for him myself.

'It is unfortunate that hundreds of hunters and hikers are lost each year in our forests and waterways.'

In rules on a website about the hunt, he stipulates that readers should never attempt the search alone.

If the body is Wallace's, he will become the second man to die looking for Fenn's treasure.

Fenn says the chest is Roman in appearance (similar shown above) and contains $2million worth of gold and jewels

The Thrill of the Chase and Too Far To Walk contain clues which point to the chest's whereabouts

Author Forrest Fenn, 86, (above) buried the treasure in 2010 and includes clues and maps for his readers to find it in his books

Bilyeu was looking for the same hidden treasure when he disappeared in January 2016.

The skeletal remains of Randy Bilyeu were discovered in July that year by a crew with the Army Corps of Engineers that had been working along the Rio Grande just north of Cochiti Lake.

Autopsy results show there wasn't enough evidence left for the Office of the Medical Investigator to determine what caused Bilyeu's death.

Afterwards, his grieving widow said she believed the entire treasure hunt was a hoax.

'We're disappointed that he lost his life because of a treasure hunt

'There's no treasure - it's not real. He lost his life for a hoax,' she told The Albequerque Journal.

But Wallace's wife of 30 years, Mitzi Wallace, insists the treasure is real and said she and their her 19-year-old son would continue searching for it - including in the area where police believe her husband died.

She told the Associated Press her husband enjoyed risking his life for wild adventures.

'I know without a shadow of a doubt,' she told the AP, 'that it was God's way of taking him.'

A friend of the author defended the hunt on Sunday when contacted by DailyMail.com.

'Forrest has said many things which people should pay attention to [including] don't go anywhere a 79 or 80 year old man can't go, the chest is not hidden in a dangerous place, and don't search alone in the mountains, yet people still look in the Rio Grande.

Wallace's car was found near the Taos Junction Bridge (pictured in 2008). His body was found five to seven miles downstream

Pilar, New Mexico, where Wallace's car was discovered last week (file image)

'They feel they need to check out cliff faces using mountaineering skills and they try crossing raging, ice cold mountain rivers. There is no need for this. Forrest intended this treasure hunt to get kids off the couch and away from their video games.

'It is an adventure aimed at families. Folks who try these stunts with no experience other than watching reality TV programs are foolish and apparently can't read or listen well to the guidance offered by the only person who knows where the chest is located,' Dal Neitzel, who operates a blog about the hunt, said.

However, New Mexico State Police have warned against anyone taking part in the hunt, saying 'the pursuit of the treasure is not worth risking one's life or the lives of dedicated [search-and-rescue] and law enforcement personnel.'

Wallace, who was a lead pastor, was last seen on June 12 north of Santa Fe.

He reported by his worried wife on Wednesday, when he failed to show up to a meeting.

The Colorado pastor told family that he was looking for a treasure trove of about $2million in gold that was hidden by author Forrest Fenn somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.

Police found Wallace's abandoned car near the Taos Junction Bridge, with receipts inside showing he purchased rope and other supplies at a local store. Pieces of torn rope were located a short distance from the vehicle.

The body was recovered on Sunday about five to seven miles downstream from where Wallace left his car.