Upon arriving at the agency, Packer came face to face with General Adams, and five men he had not seen since February. The agency officer came in after Packer and relayed to General Adams that a man named Preston Nutter had told him Packer had spent several hundred dollars over his six-week stay in Saguache as well as buying a new horse and saddle, that he was in possession of things that belonged to missing men, and that he was penniless when he had originally joined their party. Loutsenhizer demanded an explanation from Packer, who repeated the story exactly as he had told it the first time. Packer showed amazement that the men had not been heard from, and was concerned for their well-being. Loutsenhizer scoffed at his story, demanding to know where his newly-acquired wealth came from, with Packer stating that he had received a cash loan from a man in Saguache. Adams told Packer that if this were true, then he should not mind staying at the agency while the officer was sent back to Saguache to verify his story. Packer agreed with slight hesitation. The officer was dispatched at once, and after a short while returned with news from various sources that Packer had been seen with several different wallets and had told varying stories regarding his journey. He had arrived in Saguache with plenty of cash, and no one in town claimed to have loaned him a penny. Adams convened a council of the five miners, himself, Packer, and the agency officers to settle the matter. As they began the proceedings, two Ute tribesmen rushed into the agency holding strips of dried human flesh they referred to as "white man's meat", which they had found on a hill near the agency while hunting. Packer reportedly fainted and crumpled to the floor. He was revived and profusely began begging for mercy, swearing to make a full confession. After a long silence, he cryptically stated to Adams, “It would not be the first time that people had been obliged to eat each other when they were hungry." Packer slowly and sobbingly began to tell what was to become one of several different official statements, over the next three decades.