I believe the 26 tons includes the fragments.
The "good enough" scenario I guessed at has a semi-honest treasure hunter finding a 100kg-ish fragment somewhere in those 10,000 sq. mi., then selling it to someone making rings. Lab work (isotope ratios, grain structure, etc.) could confirm that it was very likely part of the Gibeon meteorite - whether or not the ownership paperwork was legit.
Something I saw while googling is that the composition & crystal structure of this meteorite makes it very attractive for use in jewellery.