What a great story and what a shame that people try to ruin it. I wold have been glad for the finder if he had managed to stay anonymous.
But this I don't understand though:
> and they both seemed to agree that the location of the find should be kept secret
In the interest of transparency after the fact I see no problem with telling people where the treasure actually was. This gives people closure especially to the ones who suffered or the families of the ones who died hunting for it, lets them verify that the instructions they went on were indeed valid, and puts to rest other suspicions people may have.
Under these conditions a judge has nothing to go on if they want to dismiss a lawsuit claiming the finder cheated in any way. There are no details on how this happened, the initiator of the treasure hunt passed away so there's nothing stopping anyone from taking this to court. Transparency is there specifically to preempt claims like this.
That's the problem, it's a "he said she said" because there's no official record. The decision to keep the location hidden even after the hunt was over makes no sense. And now the source of truth is dead with no evidence left behind, that we know of now. Imagine the lottery awarding the prize without telling you the numbers.
> Not sure how the judge would let this proceed
Because judges tend to be wary about claims made by the accused that don't have some evidence behind them to review. Fenn's log book or diary, any dated record from the time he planned and executed the preparation for the treasure hunt, or his signed affidavit could have been exactly what stopped these lawsuits in their tracks.
But as it stands neither Fenn nor the finder of the treasure considered it's a good idea to be transparent even after many people suffered financial hardship, injuries, or even death pursuing the same dream. This is not an unexpected outcome.
Some rich idiot put a treasure box on public lands, resulting in significant amounts of damage to national parks and monuments and several deaths. It was ruined from the beginning and it's a damn shame Fenn is no longer around to be prosecuted for it.
People don’t need a $1 million treasure to get themselves into trouble in the wild. It happens regularly for reasons as trivial as selfies or even just for the fun of it. It is good that there are still places where people can do that.
My issue is with the idiot who left the treasure on public lands and with the idiots that vandalized public and private property to try to find it.
People need to learn to be responsible for themselves. Supposing they were adults, going into the wilderness and not being able to survive is totally on them. "But there was a hidden treasure" is not an excuse.
People damaging national parks and monuments - again, that's on them. "But there was a hidden treasure" is not an excuse in this case either.
On average, 38 skiers and snowboarders die in the US each year ... 1600 go missing in wilderness areas ... 5000 die riding motorcycles. Treasure-hunting looks pretty safe. Feel free to hide in your home.
Out of a few hundred "treasure hunters", 6 died. Several dozen were seriously injured. "Treasure hunting" was by far the most dangerous activity of the ones you listed, even compared to motorcycle riding. And that doesn't include the damage to private or public lands caused by these idiots in their search.
The other idiots? For vandalism. National parks, national forests, national monuments, and private lands were vandalized during this search.
The "Monolith" gives me similar vibes.
At least Forrest Fenn's treasure has actual value, apparently (I would join with the naysayers if it did not.)