The 31-year treasure hunt that drew thousands of enthusiasts across France appeared to be over on Thursday, when official social media accounts associated with the search announced that the token needed to win the grand prize had been found.
This hunt, The Trail of the Golden Owl, is based on a mysterious book published in 1993. Participants had to solve 11 puzzles listed in the book and a 12th puzzle that was hidden in order to decipher the exact location of the token. .
“Don’t dig!” warned a message on a channel on the chat app Discord with tens of thousands of followers. “We can confirm that the Golden Owl countermark was unearthed last night,” the message read, followed by a flood of sad crying emojis. So there’s no point in digging.
The message states that the solutions provided by those who claim to have unearthed the tokens are currently under review.
According to Hunt’s official website, the book was published in 1993 by author Regis Hauser and artist Michel Becker and has a cult following in a community of more than 200,000 players known as “Fullers” in France and abroad. It gained popularity.
The search turned up a collection of other books, pamphlets and internet sites, the BBC reported.
In a documentary posted on YouTube, Becker said he oversaw and financed the production of the prize. The owl was made of more than 6.5 pounds of gold and nearly 16 pounds of silver, and had a diamond tip etched into its face.
A documentary about the treasure hunt by French broadcaster Canal+ said earlier this year that the owl was estimated to be worth $165,000, the BBC reported.
Events were held across France where “Fourers” could gather and share tips.
Hauser, who intelligently devised the mystery, initially used the pseudonym Max Valentin to prevent the most avid treasure hunters from seeking him out. He died in 2009, French newspaper Le Monde reported.
He and Becker decided to bury the owl replica and keep the precious original in a safe location.
To obtain the treasure, the winning player must submit a replica along with the answers to all the riddles in the book.
Becker did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
On Discord, members of the hunt channel quickly responded to the news that an owl replica might have been found, and thousands of messages poured in.
“Time to get out the tissues,” one person wrote. “It’s the end of an era,” said another.
French media also reported the end of the 30-year manhunt, one of the world’s longest unsolved treasure hunts. One participant from the south of France said on France Inter radio: “It’s disappointing because I thought it was almost there, but at the same time I was relieved that the momentum had stopped.”
The 30-year-old said he had spent every weekend for the past two years looking for owls, sometimes in the middle of the night.
On his official website, Becker warns “Furlers” not to dig holes on public or private property without permission.
According to the 2021 documentary, the concept was inspired by Kit Williams’ 1979 mystery book The Masquerade, in which hunters also have to solve several riddles to find the golden rabbit. I had to.