– A Utah man has pleaded guilty after authorities said he was caught digging in a Yellowstone National Park cemetery in search of hidden treasure. “The hunt for the Forrest Fenn treasure was often viewed as a harmless diversion, but in this case it led to substantial damage to important public resources,” Wyoming U.S. Attorney Mark Klaassen said Tuesday. Fenn died at age 90 in September, three months after announcing the treasure had been found. Fenn said before his death the treasure was in Wyoming but neither Stuef nor Fenn's relatives have said where specifically. Several people seeking the treasure had to be rescued from precarious situations and as many as six died.

Jonathan “Jack” Stuef, 32, found the treasure in June, Fenn grandson Shiloh Forrest Old posted Monday on a website dedicated to the treasure. The poem inspired many to go treasure hunting — sometimes getting into precarious situations in the unforgiving Rocky Mountain backcountry. Fenn said repeatedly the treasure wasn't in a dangerous or especially hard-to-reach place but at least four people died searching for the chest. Stuef denied the allegations, saying he never met nor heard of the woman before the lawsuit and the treasure was nowhere near New Mexico, Barbarisi wrote. Stuef didn't return a phone message left Monday by The Associated Press seeking comment on finding the treasure.

Police confirmed Fenn died Monday of natural causes at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was only in recent months that Fenn announced his treasure had supposedly been found in Wyoming by someone he didn't name. Fenn had said he packed and repacked his bronze treasure chest for more than a decade, sprinkling in gold dust and adding hundreds of rare gold coins and gold nuggets. Fenn rebuffed those requests, saying it wouldn't be fair to those who spent time and money looking for the treasure chest. Fenn spent nearly two decades in the Air Force, including his decorated service as a fighter pilot in Vietnam.

A treasure chest estimated to be worth over a million dollars hidden in the Rocky Mountains for a decade has finally been found. It was hidden there by art and antiquities collector Forrest Fenn. He used it to create a treasure hunt to inspire people to explore nature and give hope to those affected by the great recession. He told the Santa Fe New Mexican that the man who found the chest a few days ago wants to say anonymous. Fenn estimates that up to 350,000 people from all over the world hunted for the treasure.