Did FF lie? Question that's bothering me...

[WindyCityRambler]

Hello. I'm sorry if this has been discussed and I just missed it but these two statements are contradictory and seem to indicate that Forrest intentionally lied:

6/16/20 "but the poem in my book led him to the precise spot." - Forrest Fenn
9/23/20 Medium post: "I figured out the location where he wished to die (and thus, where his treasure was) back in 2018, but it took me many months to figure out the exact spot." - Finder

Has this been discussed somewhere I can watch/read about? Everyone generally agrees that FF is incredibly careful and deliberate with his words so I can't believe that in his written statement about the treasure being found he just made an error. Do most folks agree he lied about the poem leading the finder to the treasure? Am I missing something?

Thanks in advance!

[Sarah Seedling]

Are you asking two separate questions here? Statement one is a no……
Statement two is a yes……

[Space Hopper]

I believe Forrest Fenn.

[Spoon]

Has this been discussed somewhere I can watch/read about? Everyone generally agrees that FF is incredibly careful and deliberate with his words so I can't believe that in his written statement about the treasure being found he just made an error. Do most folks agree he lied about the poem leading the finder to the treasure? Am I missing something?

Welcome to The Conspiracy Hunt About Suspicious Ending (The CHASE)! This looks more like three questions to me:

1. There are lots of threads on this blog that discuss the many apparent contradictions in the things Forrest said (or is interpreted to have said) and the things Forrest said vs. the things Jack Stuef said. Search old threads or start a new one. It's a popular topic, even if it has been discussed a lot already.
2. I don't know what others think, but I do not believe he lied about that. I think he generally did not lie about the treasure hunt, though things he said may be difficult to interpret. When searchers reach conclusions based upon logic derived from things Forrest said, you can be almost certain that the conclusions are wrong, IMO. This is a puzzle, and bad puzzle interpretations lead to wrong conclusions.
3. We are all missing something. There is a lack of consensus about what happened at the end - except that everyone on the blog solved the poem, of course.

[TheGoldHunter]

I believe Forrest was a master at not telling lies.

[Fatchocolate]

Maybe Fenn said the poem in his book led the finder to the chest so that nobody could say he helped the finder and that the finder found it fair and square?

[Ozzy]

Hello. I'm sorry if this has been discussed and I just missed it but these two statements are contradictory and seem to indicate that Forrest intentionally lied:

6/16/20 "but the poem in my book led him to the precise spot." - Forrest Fenn
9/23/20 Medium post: "I figured out the location where he wished to die (and thus, where his treasure was) back in 2018, but it took me many months to figure out the exact spot." - Finder

Has this been discussed somewhere I can watch/read about? Everyone generally agrees that FF is incredibly careful and deliberate with his words so I can't believe that in his written statement about the treasure being found he just made an error. Do most folks agree he lied about the poem leading the finder to the treasure? Am I missing something?

Thanks in advance!

I do not think FF ever lied. To lie is intentional. I think FF being human did unintentionally say some misleading things from time to time and when he did he always attempted to correct.

Now, to your question: The best logical answer might be explained by what Jack says was a damaged blaze. Somewhere Jack says the blaze was damaged and when he finally found the chest via a 20+ day grid search the chest was about 6 feet from where he originally looked in 2018. So the poem may have been fairly precise with a working and visible blaze. Hope that helps.

[Mr Eyes]

6/16/20 "but the poem in my book led him to the precise spot." - Forrest Fenn

this statement is technically true, he got there eventually
and without the poem he would not have gotten there

Good point .

[Max23]

I do not think FF ever lied. To lie is intentional. I think FF being human did unintentionally say some misleading things from time to time and when he did he always attempted to correct.

Now, to your question: The best logical answer might be explained by what Jack says was a damaged blaze. Somewhere Jack says the blaze was damaged and when he finally found the chest via a 20+ day grid search the chest was about 6 feet from where he originally looked in 2018. So the poem may have been fairly precise with a working and visible blaze. Hope that helps.

Was it 6 feet? I thought it was a hundred feet, will need to read it again.

[Ozzy]

Was it 6 feet? I thought it was a hundred feet, will need to read it again.

Not sure where I read it. I will see if I can find it. I checked all of my personal emails and he did not say it to me so must have read it from community emails. And it may not have been specifically a 6 ft reference but something like that, like “I had walk right by it without knowing” or something like that.

[Ozzy]

Was it 6 feet? I thought it was a hundred feet, will need to read it again.

Yes, found it! On the Reddit website where they keep all of Jack’s email responses. Question Q6 from Amy Seeks about the blaze. You can see his response A6. I tried to copy paste below but not sure it will work.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XRPF-VXQNd0awAR-AkBTm22aOnGVnicyEix9pDEpLX8/edit#gid=0&range=E9

[Max23]

Yes, found it! On the Reddit website where they keep all of Jack’s email responses. Question Q6 from Amy Seeks about the blaze. You can see his response A6. I tried to copy paste below but not sure it will work.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...gid=0&range=E9

Q3) what was that process like of finding the chest, contacting Forrest to retrieve it and then going back for it and heading for Santa Fe? (We are assuming that you left the chest to go ask for permission due to the instructions found in the chest?) and how difficult was it to leave the chest after finding it to get permission?

A3) Not difficult at all, but I understand why that surprises people. It was sitting in just about the safest place in the world for it. Nobody had found it in all those years there. I had stood within 6 feet of it early on in the search season in 2019 without finding it, so I doubted anyone else would find it after I left it there just like it had been.

Thanks Ozzy, he did say 6 feet. That answer has been used as evidence that he actually might have found the chest in 2019 but did not take it with him. One night is doable, one year? I don't think so. Anyways, this kinda answers the question of the op. I say 6 feet is the best description of 'precise spot', given all other circumstances.

[Knowledge]

No, Forrest did not lie, he was told the poem took the finder right to the chest location. So in when he released the first statement that is what he believed.

Later, after going over what the finder had for his solution, Forrest found only the first level of his solution was solved.

That is one of the main reasons, Forrest did not want to give the location away, that, and it could cause someone undue problems with searchers and the area might be damaged.

No one wants this reason, they want to think the chest was at the end of their solution. The truth is, only a few even came close, and people can't admit they were wrong.

It does not matter if your IQ is 90 or 190, many can't understand that they picked a place on the map, then constructed the proof for it to be the location.

Look at your fellow searcher, what makes them wrong, and you right. If you don't think Forrest Fenn wanted his poem solved and would tell a person if they solved it.
You are clueless on what kind of man Forrest was. He worked for hundreds of hours creating the chase, deep down he needed to know if it could be solved.
Once the chest was gone, so was his chase, for someone to give him closure he would be grateful.

[wwwamericana]

What if you found the treasure, could see it but not touch it because of something restraining you from getting any closer.
Like a fence, a barrier, a piece of glass, metal bars, etc etc.
He said PLEASE TOUCH but what if we can't?

[Ozzy]

Q3) what was that process like of finding the chest, contacting Forrest to retrieve it and then going back for it and heading for Santa Fe? (We are assuming that you left the chest to go ask for permission due to the instructions found in the chest?) and how difficult was it to leave the chest after finding it to get permission?

A3) Not difficult at all, but I understand why that surprises people. It was sitting in just about the safest place in the world for it. Nobody had found it in all those years there. I had stood within 6 feet of it early on in the search season in 2019 without finding it, so I doubted anyone else would find it after I left it there just like it had been.

Thanks Ozzy, he did say 6 feet. That answer has been used as evidence that he actually might have found the chest in 2019 but did not take it with him. One night is doable, one year? I don't think so. Anyways, this kinda answers the question of the op. I say 6 feet is the best description of 'precise spot', given all other circumstances.

Glad I could help. That’s all very interesting and I agree, Jack said he didn’t have the blaze figured out in 2018 but he did in 2019 and got within 6 feet so yep that satisfies the definition of precise for me. I always said there might be some importance about the clue before the blaze which includes the word “just” which can mean exactly or precisely.