The mysterious person who discovered the late author Forrest Fenn’s buried treasure has identified himself.
Jack Stuef, a 32-year-old Michigan man and medical student, has revealed his identity in a new profile with Outside magazine.
He said he decided to identify himself as the treasure’s finder because of lawsuits being filed against him and Fenn’s estate by others who claim they are the real finders of the treasure.
Stuef told the magazine he first found out about Fenn’s treasure hunt in 2018.
Fenn in 2010 hid a chest filled with gold, jewels and artifacts somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.
A poem in Fenn’s book “The Thrill of the Chase: A Memoir” included nine clues on where to find the treasure. Fenn said the treasure was contained in a 12th-century bronze chest that weighed 20 pounds by itself and was filled with 22 pounds of gold coins, gold nuggets and other valuables.
The treasure was found in early June after more than 10 years of being hidden. A previous report only said that the treasure finder was an anonymous man from “back East” who sent Fenn a picture of the chest to prove he actually found it.
Stuef said he found the chest in early June somewhere in Wyoming (he did not reveal the location), and drove down to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to meet with Fenn and prove he discovered the chest.
Fenn died earlier this year, not long after the treasure was found.
At least four people died in search of Fenn’s treasure over the years.
