[imagesource: Daily Mail]

In June, the mystery of Forrest Fenn’s hidden treasure was finally solved.

That’s Fenn above, with the bounty on the right.

The millionaire became famous after hiding a treasure chest somewhere in the Rocky Mountains back in 2010, leaving a trail of clues as to where it may be hidden.

His story has been widely, and brilliantly, covered over the years, with this 2015 piece, and this 2018 piece, my two favourites.

The man who found the treasure had wished to remain anonymous, but due to a recent lawsuit by an aggrieved party, he has now gone public.

Below from CNN:

Jack Stuef [with Fenn, below], a 32-year-old medical student from Michigan, revealed that he found Fenn’s treasure chest — a claim Fenn’s family independently verified with Outside magazine, which interviewed Stuef…

He’s not willing, though, to part with the treasure’s secrets and the clues that led him to it…

Image: Outside

Stuef spent two years searching for Fenn’s treasure, which included gold, jewelry and other artifacts believed to total over $1 million. He finally found it in the Wyoming wilderness in June…

Fenn passed away at the age of 90 in September, of natural causes, although a scare back in the late 1980s is what planted the seed of the treasure hunt that would come to capture the world’s attention.

Outside reports on why Stuef is so determined to keep the location a secret:

Fenn had suggested that the loot was secreted away at the place where he had envisioned lying down to die, back when he’d believed a 1988 cancer diagnosis was terminal…

Stuef fears that Fenn’s spot, if revealed, will become a pilgrimage site for Fenn devotees.

“It’s not an appropriate place to become a tourist destination. It has huge meaning to Forrest, and I don’t want to see it destroyed,” Stuef says. “And as much as I tried not to develop an attachment to the place, eventually I did, as well. I had whole days out there looking, and I would take a nap in the afternoon every day, as I said on Medium, under the pine trees. It was very peaceful for me.”

The lawsuit was brought by a woman who claims that whoever found the treasure had done so by hacking her texts and emails, a claim Stuef strenuously denies.

As things stand, the treasure is housed in a vault in New Mexico, and Stuef has moved to “more secure building with guards and multiple levels of security” to protect himself.

Stuef plans to sell the treasure, although he’s unsure whether he would sell it in one go, or sell various items individually.

All in all, it’s really a pretty remarkable story, and if you find yourself with a few minutes to spare, read the full Outside article here.

You can also read Stuef’s statement on the revealing of his identity here.

It’s the end of the road for Fenn’s treasure hunters, although if it’s a challenge you’re after, you could always have a go at finding that Dutch Schultz bounty.

[sources:cnn&outside]