The identity of the winner is not yet known but it’s done, it’s over. Someone finally got their hands on this famous Golden Owl, which fascinated and changed entire lives. “ We confirm that the Golden Owl countermark was unearthed last night, simultaneously with a solution being sent to the online verification system. There is therefore no point in moving to dig on the location you assume to be the cache. As previously announced, we are verifying the validity of the proposed solution”announced painter Michel Becker, on the game’s Discord forum, this Thursday, October 3.
Michel Becker is one of the two organizers who, 31 years ago, launched this hunt which has become legendary and for which many researchers around the world have become passionate. His sidekick, Régis Hauser, died in April 2009, sixteen years after having buried the countermark of the golden owl in an unknown location in France, recalls the newspaper Libération.
As a reminder, in this hunt, the goal was to find a bronze copy of a gold sculpture of an owl – worth 150,000 euros. And to do this, it was necessary to solve eleven puzzles illustrated in a book, “On the trail of the golden owl”, published in 1993, by Manya. “ It is estimated that 200,000 people have, at one point, searched for the owl since its burial », Explained in 2020 to La Voix du Nord Laurent Vichery, a member of the “chouetteurs” community.
Originally, Régis Hauser, alias Max Valentin, communications professional and puzzle enthusiast, joined forces with painter Michel Becker to set up this treasure hunt. Initially the game was supposed to last a year or two and then the mystery dragged on, with the riddle of Regis Hauser remaining unsolved. Some had even expressed doubts about the very existence of a statuette.
