This year’s finder of the Sea Fair treasure was out following doctor’s orders when he discovered the booty.
Doug Bleaney, the owner of Wilf’s Special-T Shop, had a heart attack 12 days ago and part of his recovery means taking a walk every day. He found the treasure on Friday, July 8, just after noon, while he was out for his daily walk.
The treasure—-a drink can in a plastic bag—-was stuck in a tree on a trail across from the Beach Hut, the concession stand at Willingdon Beach. The seventh clue had just been published in The Weekend Shopper.
Bleaney said he had only been searching for the treasure for two days. “I got a hold of some of the clues and I thought, why don’t I just do this? So I started looking.”
At first he thought the treasure was hidden at Willingdon Beach. “I went everywhere on Willingdon Beach. There isn’t a tree, a bush, a shrub that I didn’t go under, over and through. Then all of a sudden I thought, ‘you have to cross the road and use the other lighthouse.’”
The clue published on July 8 stated, “If your attention wanders away with this spectacular sight, you will not become lost with that lighthouse in sight!”
