‘World’s longest treasure hunt’ ends as golden owl worth £125,000 is found after 31 years

The hunt began in 1993

The treasure hunt was established in France in 1993 and garnered huge popularity in the country and abroad.

The hunt consisted of 11 clues and a secret 12th clue which would allow one clever cookie to find a token which could be exchanged for the very valuable golden owl statue.

These clues were published in a book of riddles known as 'Sur la Trace de la Chouette d'Or' in French or 'On the Trail of the Golden Owl' in English created by author Regis Hauser and artist Michel Becker.

However, this week the hunt came to an end when a message appeared on social media accounts linked to the search alluded to the fact it had been found.

Becker himself warned hunters as he posted to a Discord chat the message: "Don't go digging!"

"We confirm that the Golden Owl countermark was unearthed last night. It is therefore useless to go digging," he added.

The message was met with swathes of sad and crying emojis clearly either emotional the hunt was finally over, or devastated they were not the one to solve the puzzle.

The treasure hunt and its book has a large following of dedicated fans, with over 200,000 members of a community calling themselves 'Owlers', all trying to get their hands on the prize.

The prize in question is made of 3kg of gold and 7kg of silver with diamonds encrusted on its face, as confirmed by Becker who oversaw its manufacturing.

Sadly for Regis Hauser, he did not survive to see the unlocking of the riddles his mind conjured, with the author dying in 2009 as reported by French paper Le Monde.

However, during his time alive, Hauser initially used the pen name Max Valentin in order to avoid people tracking him down.

A replica of the owl was buried by Becker and Hauser while the real one was kept under lock and key until the replica was found.

One woman, Jo Bartley, from Kent, runs the website GoldenOwlHunt.com and has previously travelled to France with her daughter to try and hit the jackpot spoke about the prize to Sky News.

She said: "People all over the world have been searching for this treasure for decades.

"It's been an amazing experience for me personally, I've gained so much knowledge, made so many friends, and dreamed of solving this for so many years.

"Me and my treasure hunt friends are sad that it's all over, but have huge respect for the winner. It must have been an amazing feeling to unearth this famous owl and win the prize.

"There's so little opportunity for adventure in modern life, and this treasure hunt has given thousands of people a chance to enjoy a real-life quest for fame and fortune."

One French man spoke on the radio of his disappointment with the owl being found, however, was also relieved that the hunt was over.

He probably won't be the only one thinking this, as many come to terms with the end of the decade long search, one lucky hunter out there will be enjoying a very tidy pay check.

Image credit: Michel Becker