In the summer of 2020, an American student found a treasure of a millionaire in the rocky mountains, who had been looking for thousands of people for 10 years. Now he hired protection and revealed his name

In 2010, in the USA in the Rocky Mountains, the treasure race began , which was announced by the eccentric millionaire, former art dealer and collector Forrest Fenn. In his autobiography “The Thrill of the Chase”), Fenn said that he hid in the desert an old bronze chest somewhere in the rocky mountains, north of the city of Santa Fe in the state of New Mexico, where he lived. In the chest there were gold nuggets, dust and rare coins, jewelry and other artifacts worth one million dollars (in 2013, treasures were already estimated at five million dollars).

The millionaire published a poem in his book, which contained nine encrypted tips indicating the place where the treasure was hidden. After the publication of the book, Fenn gave several more tips. So, the treasure was at an altitude of more than two thousand meters above sea level, it was not advised to look in the states of Aidaho and Utah, as well as in cemeteries and in destroyed buildings.

Fenn hid the treasure in a place in which he would like to die. The very thoughts of a secret treasure in a millionaire appeared in 1988, when he was diagnosed with an oncological disease. Then he decided to leave a special memory of himself - to hide the treasure and leave the tips where to look for it. The disease was stopped, but Fenn decided to realize his idea with treasures.

Hidden values ​​for millions of dollars were looking for thousands of people. Some of them lost money, others died. At least five people who died in 2016-2020 during the searches are known-all residents of Colorado. At the same time, the people who were looking for the treasure pursued Fenn, threatened him and even crashed into his house.

The treasure race ended on June 6, 2020 in the American state of Wyming. Forrest Fenn announced that a man contacted him who said that with the help of tips from the poem a millionaire he found a hidden chest. Then the treasure hunter decided not to give his name, and so it would last for some time, but on September 7, Forrest Fenn died at the age of 90.

After his death, an anonymous article of Memory of Forrest Fenn appeared on the Medium website, the author of which claimed that it was he who found a treasure in the rocky mountains. He said that back in 2018 he realized where the millionaire hid the treasure, but in search of the exact place he took two years - and 25 full days spent in the rocky mountains. He published a photograph of the chest taken in the place where Fenn hid him in 2010. In addition, the author of the note spoke about the meeting with Fena and their conversations about the search for treasures.

I never met with Forrest before June, and this was the only time we were together. But I am grateful to the time that we had. When I met Forrest, I told him that I was not sure that I would ever meet with him. The treasure was too difficult to find. He said with a smile that he always said that it was difficult to find, but not impossible, and I proved that he was right.

Two and a half months later, the author of the note revealed his name - after the other less successful treasure hunters decided to sue him. The treasure was found by a 32-year-old medical student from Michigan Jack Stuf. On December 7, his name was one of the first in Outside was announced by journalist and writer Daniel Barberisi, who is preparing a book about the search for Fenn's treasures. Barberry noted that Fenn's family, regardless of Stef, confirmed that he really found the treasure. On December 7, Jack Stef himself published a statement on Medium, in which he said that he decided to reveal an identity, because otherwise the court could do it.

Jack Stuf said that he refused to reveal his identity not because he had something to hide, but due to the fact that other treasure hunters pursued Forrest Fenn, threatened him and filed claims against him. “I do not want this to happen to me or my family,” Stef said. He explained that he decided to abandon anonymity after a lawyer from Chicago Barbara Andersen filed a lawsuit against a person who found a treasure. She claimed that this man hacked her correspondence with guesses about where the treasure was-Andersen admitted that he was hidden in the state of New Mexico.

Jack Stuf told Daniel Barberry that the court in New Mexico accepted the Arezen lawsuit, and last week the judge demanded that the heirs of Forrest Fenn transfer personal data about the person who found treasures. Stef himself called the lawsuit unreasonable and noted that he had never heard about Barbar Andersen before, and that Fenn did not hide the treasure in New Mexico. Stef explained that he made a statement, fearing that the court would name his name.

Stef said that he was preparing for such events. To protect himself, he moved his family to a safe place with security and several levels of protection.

When I found a treasure, it put an end to the hopes of many people around the world who once wanted to find it. I understand both disappointment and the distrust that many have experienced and experienced, and do not accept caustic comments about me or the theories of the conspiracy, in which some find reassurance. But for clarity: I never worked for Forrest, and he never “chose” me to “find” a treasure. I was an outsider for him. And he found the treasure as he planned.

Many treasure hunters, as the writer Daniel Barberry said, understand why Jack Stuf did not want to reveal his name. But they do not understand why he does not want to name the place where the treasure was. Stef, answering this, said that he did not want it to turn into a place of pilgrimage for fans of Fenn. “This is not a suitable place to become a tourist direction. It is of great importance for Forrest, and I do not want it to be destroyed, ”he explained.

The treasure found, according to Jack Stuf, is in a safe storage in New Mexico (and this is not Fenn's vault). He hid the chest there after he delivered a treasure from Vioming to Santa Fe. According to Stef, the chest will remain in the storage until he sells the treasury. In an interview with writer Daniel Barberry, he noted that he was thinking about selling a treasure in parts or completely. Stef believes that the most value will be represented by the entire treasure as the “treasure of Fenn”, but he admitted that the treasure would divide, since many treasure hunters participating in the search will be pleased to get at least part of the values.

After the sale of the treasure, Jack Stuf intends to fulfill the last desire of Forrest Fenn - he asked for a chest in which treasures were stored, would be in a certain place where other treasure hunters can see it. What kind of place it is, he did not specify.

Alexander Baklanov