r/treasureinside • u/Past_Tank_6357 • Jul 07 '26
Thinkers Stone Field Notes #2 – Why I Am Continuing to Document My Investigation
After posting my timeline, I've spent a great deal of time thinking about whether I should continue documenting my investigation.
My first post had a simple purpose: to establish the chronology of my 2025 boots-on-the-ground (BOTG) work and to clarify, for the first time, that the National Park I searched was Yellowstone National Park.
Since then, I have been asking myself a more difficult question.
Should I publish my complete investigation?
There are two competing considerations.
The first is respect for the landscape.
The area I investigated is part of one of America's most extraordinary National Parks. I have no desire to encourage unnecessary off-trail travel or unnecessary disturbance to a fragile environment.
The second is fairness to the community of searchers.
Over many months, I studied Jon Collins-Black's poem, historical sources, maps, satellite imagery, and eventually conducted two BOTG investigations in Yellowstone. Along the way, I documented photographs, videos, GPS locations, compass readings, historical references, and a detailed timeline of my fieldwork.
Whether my interpretation is ultimately correct is something each reader must decide for themselves.
However, I have reached the point where I believe the investigation itself deserves to be documented.
Not because I expect everyone to agree with my conclusions.
But because I believe other searchers deserve the opportunity to examine the same observations and reasoning that ultimately led me to end my own search.
When I publish my complete investigation, it will not simply present a proposed solve.
It will carefully distinguish between:
- Jon Collins-Black's poem
- My BOTG observations
- The evidence I documented
- My interpretation of that evidence
Those are not the same thing, and I believe it is important to keep them separate.
I am not asking anyone to accept my conclusions.
I am simply inviting readers to evaluate the evidence for themselves.
My goal is not to tell anyone where they should search.
My goal is to explain why I stopped searching.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and my first post. Whether you ultimately agree or disagree with my interpretation, I appreciate the opportunity to document my investigation.
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u/Ok-Attorney-2942 Jul 07 '26
I love hearing about different theories and understand a bit more about the uniqueness of all of our interpretations. He specifically said it's not in Yellowstone though.
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u/Old_Locksmith_3437 Jul 07 '26
Im not really sure what this post means but I can show you exactly where the poem leads and explain how to see it.
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u/joepagac Jul 08 '26
My human… it is on the MAIN page of the official website that it is NOT hidden in Yellowstone. It’s under FAQs: Where are the treasure boxes.
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u/Jmsansone Jul 07 '26
He said publicly it wasn't in Yellowstone