After 31 years, a famous treasure hunt in France seems to have concluded, as reports from official social media channels related to the search announce that the necessary token for claiming the grand prize has been discovered.
The treasure hunt, known as On The Trail Of The Golden Owl, was inspired by a book of riddles that was published in 1993.
Participants were challenged to solve 11 puzzles presented in the book, along with an additional hidden 12th puzzle, to determine the precise location of the token.
A message on a channel on the chat app Discord, which has tens of thousands of followers, cautioned, “Don’t go digging!”
“We confirm that the Golden Owl countermark was unearthed last night [October 2],” the message read, triggering numerous sad and crying emojis. “It is therefore useless to go digging.”
The solutions provided by those who claim to have discovered the token are currently under verification, the message indicated.
Published in 1993 by author Regis Hauser and artist Michel Becker, the book garnered a cult-like following, attracting a community of over 200,000 players, referred to as ‘owlers’, from both France and other countries, according to the hunt’s official website.
In a YouTube documentary, Mr. Becker shared that he managed and funded the creation of the prize—an owl crafted from 3kg of gold and 7kg of silver, adorned with diamond chips on its face.
Events were organized across France where ‘owlers’ could meet and exchange tips.
Mr. Hauser, the mastermind behind the riddles, initially concealed his identity using the pen name Max Valentin to avoid ardent treasure hunters tracking him down. He passed away in 2009, as reported by the French newspaper Le Monde.
He and Mr. Becker chose to bury a replica of the owl, while the valuable original was secured safely. Its worth is estimated at 150,000 euros ($164,663), according to online estimates by treasure hunt enthusiasts.
The winning participant would need to present the replica alongside the solutions to all of the book’s riddles in order to claim the treasure.
On Discord, members of the hunt’s channel quickly responded to the announcement that the replica owl might have been located, with thousands of messages flooding in.
“Time to get the tissues out,” one comment read, while another noted: “It’s the end of an era.”
According to a documentary from 2021, the idea was inspired by The Masquerade, a book of riddles published in 1979 by Kit Williams, where treasure hunters had to solve puzzles to discover a golden rabbit.