Yellowstone Ranger: I've Seen Forrest Fenn's Treasure Spot

At least two living people know where the late Forrest Fenn hid his treasure: the man who found it and the chief ranger of Yellowstone National Park. Ranger Sarah Davis has admitted that Fenn and Jack Stuef, the 30-something medical student who found Fenn's treasure in the summer of 2020, revealed the location to her during a Zoom call in August of that year, a month before Fenn's death, Outside reports. The exact location remains a secret—though one at risk of being divulged. Stuef could be compelled to reveal the location in a sworn deposition in one of several lawsuits over the treasure hunt that began in 2010.

The lawsuits make some pretty outrageous claims. One states Taylor Swift must have known the location because two of her albums are full of clues, per the Santa Fe New Mexican. But the lawsuit from Florida's Jamie McCracken, who says he has evidence that Fenn was still alive after his death was announced, accuses Fenn of monitoring his search and moving the treasure four times when McCracken got too close, per Outside. Ahead of proceedings set for June, a lawyer for Fenn's estate has subpoenaed Stuef for a deposition, hoping he'll say that he followed the clues in the poem contained in Fenn's memoir to the original hiding spot. But if he questions Stuef, "McCracken also gets a turn," per Outside.

Assistant US attorney Kimberley Bell tried to prevent that. She filed a motion to intervene in the case in April on the argument that revealing the treasure's location will result in damage to Yellowstone. In support of that motion, Davis signed an affidavit stating Fenn and Stuef revealed the location to her in August 2020 and that upon visiting it—it's never stated that the treasure is indeed within the park—she found the spot could not handle an influx of visitors. But a judge denied Bell's motion on Wednesday, per Outside. That means that unless the government intervenes, say through a federal court injunction, Stuef will be questioned under oath. (More Forrest Fenn treasure stories.)