Man Who Found Buried Treasure Identified
2020-12-12
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1It is the stuff of childhood stories - finding buried treasure! For one man, that is now a reality.
2On December 7, the family of a man who buried a treasure in the southwest part of the United States confirmed the identity of its finder.
3On a website made for the treasure hunt, Shiloh Forrest Old wrote that Jonathan "Jack" Stuef found the treasure worth more than $1 million.
4"We wish Jack the best of luck," Old wrote and we hope that the searching community will treat him with the respect that he deserves."
5Shiloh Forrest Old is a grandson of Forrest Fenn, the man who buried the treasure.
6Also, on December 7, the website Outside Magazine also published an article confirming Stuef as the finder.
7Stuef is a 32-year-old medical student from the state of Michigan who found the treasure back in June.
8However, at that time his name was not made public.
9On June 6, Forrest Fenn announced that his treasure had been found, but did not say who found it or where.
10Finally, in July he confirmed that the treasure was found in Wyoming.
11This is the only detail that is publicly known about its location.
12In the beginning, Jack Stuef did not want his name to be known.
13In September, he wrote an article for the website Medium.
14He described finding the treasure, but not how or where.
15 And he did not give his name.
16Then in another more recent article published in December on Medium, he explained why.
17He wrote that he did not want his family to suffer the same as the Fenn family has with such things as death threats and home invasions.
18So, why bury a treasure?
19Forrest Fenn was a retired art and antique salesman.
20He was also an honored U.S. Air Force fighter pilot during the Vietnam War.
21As VOA reported last year, in 1988 doctors found cancer in Fenn's body and told him he only had about six months to live.
22So, he decided to have fun with some of his money.
23He put pieces of gold, jewels and other valuables in a metal box and planned to leave it for others to enjoy after he was gone.
24But Fenn beat the cancer.
25In 2010, he decided to hide the box.
26"I wanted to give people hope and something to look forward to," he said.
27"Maybe there is a pot of gold at the end of your rainbow if you go out and look for it."
28He wanted it to be a good, traditional treasure hunt.
29So, he left clues to the location of the treasure in a poem he wrote in his book titled "The Thrill of the Chase."
30The poem included a map of the Rocky Mountains, and the general area where the treasure was hidden.
31At the time, Fenn said he hid the treasure in the Rocky Mountains in either Colorado, Montana, New Mexico or Wyoming.
32The poem inspired many to go treasure hunting.
33And sometimes this led to some dangerous situations.
34In fact, at least four people died searching for the treasure and many others needed to be rescued.
35The Rocky Mountain backcountry can be very dangerous.
36However, Fenn said repeatedly that the treasure was not in a dangerous or especially hard-to-reach place.
37In his September Medium article, Jack Stuef describes finally meeting Fenn after finding the treasure.
38He brought it for the two to enjoy together.
39Fenn died in September at age 90 without ever identifying the finder.
40I'm Anna Matteo.
1It is the stuff of childhood stories - finding buried treasure! For one man, that is now a reality. 2On December 7, the family of a man who buried a treasure in the southwest part of the United States confirmed the identity of its finder. 3On a website made for the treasure hunt, Shiloh Forrest Old wrote that Jonathan "Jack" Stuef found the treasure worth more than $1 million. 4"We wish Jack the best of luck," Old wrote and we hope that the searching community will treat him with the respect that he deserves." 5Shiloh Forrest Old is a grandson of Forrest Fenn, the man who buried the treasure. 6Also, on December 7, the website Outside Magazine also published an article confirming Stuef as the finder. 7Stuef is a 32-year-old medical student from the state of Michigan who found the treasure back in June. However, at that time his name was not made public. 8On June 6, Forrest Fenn announced that his treasure had been found, but did not say who found it or where. Finally, in July he confirmed that the treasure was found in Wyoming. This is the only detail that is publicly known about its location. 9In the beginning, Jack Stuef did not want his name to be known. In September, he wrote an article for the website Medium. He described finding the treasure, but not how or where. And he did not give his name. 10Then in another more recent article published in December on Medium, he explained why. He wrote that he did not want his family to suffer the same as the Fenn family has with such things as death threats and home invasions. 11So, why bury a treasure? 12Forrest Fenn was a retired art and antique salesman. He was also an honored U.S. Air Force fighter pilot during the Vietnam War. 13As VOA reported last year, in 1988 doctors found cancer in Fenn's body and told him he only had about six months to live. So, he decided to have fun with some of his money. He put pieces of gold, jewels and other valuables in a metal box and planned to leave it for others to enjoy after he was gone. 14But Fenn beat the cancer. In 2010, he decided to hide the box. "I wanted to give people hope and something to look forward to," he said. "Maybe there is a pot of gold at the end of your rainbow if you go out and look for it." 15He wanted it to be a good, traditional treasure hunt. So, he left clues to the location of the treasure in a poem he wrote in his book titled "The Thrill of the Chase." 16The poem included a map of the Rocky Mountains, and the general area where the treasure was hidden. At the time, Fenn said he hid the treasure in the Rocky Mountains in either Colorado, Montana, New Mexico or Wyoming. 17The poem inspired many to go treasure hunting. And sometimes this led to some dangerous situations. In fact, at least four people died searching for the treasure and many others needed to be rescued. The Rocky Mountain backcountry can be very dangerous. 18However, Fenn said repeatedly that the treasure was not in a dangerous or especially hard-to-reach place. 19In his September Medium article, Jack Stuef describes finally meeting Fenn after finding the treasure. He brought it for the two to enjoy together. Fenn died in September at age 90 without ever identifying the finder. 20I'm Anna Matteo. 21Mead Gruver reported this story for the Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 22_______________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24stuff - n. informal -used to speak in a general way about something that is talked about, written about, etc. 25deserve - v. to have earned because of some act or quality 26clue - n. something that guides through an intricate procedure or maze of difficulties specifically : a piece of evidence that leads one toward the solution of a problem 27antique - adj. belonging to an earlier period, style, or fashion : old and often valuable 28rainbow - n. a curved line of different colors that sometimes appears in the sky when the sun shines through rain 29thrill - n. a feeling of great excitement or happiness : a very exciting or enjoyable event or experience 30inspired - adj. very good or clever