A complaint filed against the organizer, Michel Becker reacts

Has the golden owl really been found? Officially, yes. But on networks, many researchers doubt it. An association of “owners” announces file a complaint against the organizer. Michel Becker says he is confident and answers us.

Thirty years after its launch, the legendary treasure hunt of the golden owl continues to vibrate enthusiasts. However, despite the official announcement of its resolution, the controversy swells.

On May 2, 2025, Michel Becker, current hunting rights “in the footsteps of the golden owl”, broadcast a film revealing the solutions to the puzzles. According to him, the countermark was found in Dabo, Moselle, near the Saint-Martin terminals.
But on social networks, many “owners” dispute this version. They judge the solutions too simple, even improbable, and are surprised that the cache has been able to be in a place so excavated for years.

Even before the broadcast of the film, the Association of Researchers of the Golden owl (A2CO) announced, in a press release, to file a complaint with the constitution of civil party against Michel Becker, saying that hunting was not resolved. In an online document, the association, according to her, lists the inconsistencies.

Michel Becker remains serene: “I have not yet received any assignment. This does not prevent me from sleeping. They make me pity these old researchers a little. They are in their idealized image of Max Valentin “. He says he is amazed that the association can take the same path as another of its detractors, “who has just been sentenced to defamation“.

To support his statements, Michel Becker surrounded himself with a bailiff, Snow-Schmitt White, who noted several key elements. In a document entitled “The legal history of the treasure hunt” on the trace of the golden owl “”, it is indicated: “The floppy disk containing the solutions was readable and unprotected. Michel Becker could not change the content. The cache was checked on site, and a report was drawn up.“

Michel Becker tells us: “I followed the content of the floppy discount by the widow of Max Valentin to the letter. The bailiff accompanied me on site to check the cache. She attended the extraction of the rusty duck that had been put in the place, as well as the implementation of the right countermark. He validated the content of the diskette of the solutions to which I referred with great rigor to bury the new countermark.

Max Valentin was alone when he buried the first countermark. He filed the regulations. He was the only one to know the solutions to the puzzles. I had everything checked by the bailiff. Paradoxically, it is once the bailiff has verified everything that players dispute everything. It’s amazing.”

Beyond the controversy, Michel Becker underlines the emotional impact of this hunt: “JI have received messages from young people hunting with their grandfather’s book. Some even hoped that it was never found. “
He recalls that Max Valentin, creator of the game, was inspired by a British hunt and had chosen Dabo, a place he had known well since childhood. According to him, the hunt was actually “very simple”, but the exchanges on Minitel at the time contributed to more complex.

Michel Becker confirms that a new treasure hunt will be launched in June, with a different approach: it will not necessarily require to move. The first lasted thirty years and raised 200,000 owners.