Hunt for buried treasure worth $165k ends in success after 31 years

It’s taken more than 30 years, but an elaborate treasure hunt that has captivated countless riddle-solvers has finally been won.

The quest has seen tens of thousands of participants searching locations across France in a bid to nab the prize: a statuette of an owl made of gold, silver and diamonds.

The elusive prize was buried back in 1993 by Régis Hauser, author of the puzzle book On the Trail of the Golden Owl.

The work, penned under the pseudonym Maz Valentin, consists of 11 riddles that, together, reveal the mystery of the treasure’s location.

In fact, the buried owl was a replica of the original bejewelled statuette, which is estimated to be worth around €150,000 (£125,700 or $165,000), according to a documentary on the trail by French broadcaster Canal+.

However, the successful treasure seeker need not despair: their reward for unearthing the replica was the real statue in all its diamond-clad glory.

To find it, participants had to solve the 11 puzzles from the book, then complete a twelfth, hidden puzzle, which led to a token revealing the owl’s location, the New York Post reports.

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The announcement that this final token had been found was made last week on the social media platform Discord.

It was revealed by Michel Becker – the man who not only sculpted the golden owl itself but was behind the illustrations in Hauser’s 1993 book.

“Don’t go digging!” Becker’s message read.

“We confirm that the Golden Owl countermark was unearthed last night, simultaneously with a solution upload to the online verification system.

“It is therefore useless to go digging on the location you assume to be the cache.”

He then added: “Well done to the finder of the owl, huge congratulations are due.”

However, Becker revealed no further information about the successful treasure hunter or the location of the prize, writing only: "I hope we will learn the finder’s name in due course, and finally find the answers to the clues."

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