After 31 years of relentless pursuit, the world’s longest treasure hunt seems to have come to an end.
“It’s the end of an era,” a participant said after the statuette of a golden owl was finally unearthed three decades after it was buried at a secret location somewhere in France.
The On the Trail of the Golden Owl hunt, launched in 1993, was based on a book of riddles penned by author Régis Hauser (under the pseudonym “Max Valentin”) and artist Michel Becker.
Highlights
- The world’s longest treasure hunt has reportedly come to an end.
- The 'On the Trail of the Golden Owl' hunt was launched in 1993 and was based on a book of riddles.
- A replica of the final prize, which is a golden owl, was buried somewhere in France about 31 years back.
- “It’s sad that the hunt is over, it was a big part of my life for so long” participant Joanne Bartley told Bored Panda.
Curious seekers from across the globe dedicated years—even decades—of their lives in the quest to find the token that would lead to the coveted prize: a 3-kilogram gold and 7-kilogram silver owl, adorned with diamond chips, valued at around $165,000.
The world’s longest treasure hunt has reportedly come to an end after 31 years of sparking curiosity and intrigue
Image credits: FRANCE 24 English
The book contained 11 puzzles that participants had to solve, and the hidden 12th puzzle held the key to the location where the replica owl was buried. The original golden owl was safely kept by Régis and Michel.
Michel had taken over the treasure hunt after Régis passed away in 2009.
On Thursday, October 3, an announcement shared by Michel himself had revealed that the golden owl statuette had been found.
Following its conclusion last week, some reports have claimed that the On the Trail of the Golden Owl (Sur la trace de la chouette d'or in French) was the world's longest treasure hunt.
Launched in 1993, the hunt was based on a book of riddles penned by author Régis Hauser (under the pseudonym “Max Valentin”) and artist Michel Becker
Image credits: FRANCE 24 English
“We confirm that the replica of the golden owl was dug up last night, and that simultaneously a solution has been sent on the online verification system,” the message said. “It is therefore now pointless traveling to dig at any place you believe the cache might be situated."
"Don't go digging!" Michel also told thousands of followers on Discord. "We confirm that the Golden Owl countermark was unearthed last night. It is therefore useless to go digging."
Over the years, participants have been driven with curiosity and obsession to crack the final riddle, devoting days to finding the buried treasure.
"Don't go digging!" the artist said while announcing that the golden owl replica buried 31 years ago had been found
"It's sad that the hunt is over, it was a big part of my life for so long, but I have huge respect for the winner," Joanne Bartley, who runs the GoldenOwlHunt.com website, told Bored Panda via email.
The participant, living in Whitstable, Kent, has spent hours researching, studying maps and even traveled to France to dig for the treasure at possible locations. Despite the hunt coming to an end, she said she was excited to find out how the clues were solved.
"These complex clues confused everyone for 31 years, but now we'll finally get to know the answers. Anyone who tackled this hunt is now wondering how close they were to the right location," she added. "There is nothing quite like this treasure hunt ... It was a real adventure, which is so rare in our modern world."
"It's sad that the hunt is over, it was a big part of my life for so long," said a long-time participant from Whitstable, Kent
As she made her way through the "crazily complex clues," Joanne said she was also able to make several friends along the way.
"I made so many friends through this treasure hunt, a worldwide community has grown up around it. There are some people who've been working on this for twenty years or more, starting when they were children and never quitting," she shared.
"I've worked on the hunt with my daughter, who wasn't even born when this treasure hunt started," the mother continued. "This game has brought us closer together, for sure. We always had something to talk about in dull moments, and we've enjoyed some great adventures together on trips to France. We might not have found the treasure but we have some wonderful memories of seeking that buried owl."