This article was originally published in English
The treasure worth an estimated 150,000 euros has been found, more than 30 years after being hidden somewhere in France. This discovery marks the end of a quest based on puzzles and one of the longest treasure hunts in the world.
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The search is finally over!
31 years, 5 months and 9 days after the launch in France of the mysterious treasure hunt for the golden owl, a modern-day Indiana Jones, whose name has not yet been revealedcracked the code and found the coveted statuette.
Launched in 1993 by Régis Hauser (alias Max Valentin) and the painter Michel Beckerthe treasure hunt “On the trail of the golden owl” attracted thousands of people in France.
Hidden somewhere in France by Hauser, the 10 kg treasure, encrusted with diamonds and with an estimated value of 150,000 euros, has been challenging researchers and mystery enthusiasts for three decades.
This is the longest treasure hunt to date, the previous record being held by the British hunt “Quest: A Zetetic Treasure Hunt”, which lasted 13 years and seven months (from September 1992 to March 2006).
The valuable item was buried and clues to its location were hidden in 11 text and visual puzzless published in the book “On the trail of the golden owl”.
There are three editions of the book, published by Manya (1993), Hermé et Max Valentin (1995), and Michel Lafon et les Editions du Trésor (1997), but the creators have previously stated that only one edition was enough to solve the riddle. They are no longer published, but the indices have been made available for download with the agreement of the authors.
The riddles remained unanswered for years…until today.
This Thursday morning, at 8:26 a.m., the game’s co-creator Becker announced on the game’s forum: “We can confirm that the Golden Owl was discovered last night, at the same time as the download of the solution which was sent to the online verification system So there is no need to dig at the location you assume is the hiding place.
Golden owl hunting is no stranger to controversy.
After Hauser’s death in 2009, several legal proceedings pitted his heirs against Becker. The game’s solution was known only to Hauser, and Becker finally got the answers to the puzzles in the early 2020s. He revived the hunt and created a forum on Discord to galvanize the hunting community and perpetuate the cultural legacy mystery.
The identity of the winner and where the golden owl was hidden have not yet been announced. However, many treasure hunters are more interested in publishing the solutions to the puzzles that have had them scratching their heads for almost three decades!
Additional sources • France 3, Dabotheory, adaptation: Serge Duchêne
