By Tim Binnall
The man who found the famed Forrest Fenn treasure has revealed his identity and shared new details surrounding the circumstances by which he discovered the elusive riches. The subject of considerable speculation since early June, when eccentric art dealer Forrest Fenn announced that his treasure had finally been recovered after a decade-long hunt, the individual known only as 'the finder' had managed to remain anonymous for the last six months. However, in an enlightening blog post published at the website Medium on Monday, Jack Stuef announced that he was the mysterious person who had cracked the riddle and his declaration was subsequently verified by the Fenn family.
The successful treasure hunter explained that he had originally opted to remain anonymous in order to avoid the harassment which befell Fenn and his loved ones for so many years due to the treasure, including "stalkers, death threats, home invasions, frivolous lawsuits, and a potential kidnapping." However, recent developments surrounding a "meritless lawsuit" filed against Fenn and the then-unknown finder would have resulted in his name being made public regardless of his wishes. As such, Stuef wrote "I chose to come forward today."
Recounting his quest for the treasure, the former reporter and medical student from Michigan indicated that he became obsessed with the Fenn Treasure back in 2018 and spent countless hours studying the poem which served a proverbial map to the riches whereabouts until he located the cache back on June 6th. According to Stuef, he subsequently brought the treasure to Fenn's home in Santa Fe and then placed it in a vault "at a secure location in New Mexico" where it will be kept until it is eventually sold.
While Stuef was willing to reveal his identity, he remains steadfast in keeping secret the location where the treasure was hidden. His reasoning for this decision is that "the natural wonder of the place that Forrest held so dear will be destroyed" by people hoping to find riches that were somehow left behind or individuals simply wishing to visit the mysterious spot which had eluded so many in the past. He also cited the potential danger as "getting to the wilderness location where the chest was is not dangerous in the conventional sense of the word, but it very quickly can be when people do not take basic precautions or go out in the wrong conditions."
As for the treasure itself, Stuef told the website Outside Online that Fenn had a 'final wish' that the treasure be displayed and that the duo had taken steps to find a buyer that would make that dream a reality. Should he be unable to strike such a deal, the treasure hunter says that he will likely make the riches available for sale to the general public, although he has not yet decided how exactly such an endeavor would unfold and whether or not he'd sell the riches as a whole or in individual parts. Ultimately, Stuef expressed hope that the revelation of his identity will provide some closure to treasure hunters who, up until now, had refused to believe that the chase had really come to an end.