PARIS - The world’s longest treasure hunt appears to have come to an end, after an announcement in France that a buried statuette of a golden owl has finally been unearthed after 31 years. “We confirm that the replica of the golden owl was dug up last night, and that simultaneously a solution has been sent on the online verification system,” reads a post published on Thursday morning on the hunt’s official chatline. “It is therefore now pointless travelling to dig at any place you believe the cache might be situated.
” The message was posted by Michel Becker, who illustrated the original Chouette d’Or (golden owl) book and sculpted the buried statuette in 1993. No further information about the site or the finder was available and Mr Becker was not contactable by telephone. Tens of thousands of people have taken part in the search, which has spawned a huge secondary literature in books, pamphlets and Internet sites.
They have all been following 11 complicated puzzles set out in the first book by its creator, Max Valentin. When he died in 2009, Mr Becker took over the operation. The complex clues were supposed to lead to a precise point somewhere in France, where a bronze replica of the actual golden owl would be found under the ground.
The winner would get the precious gold original. A documentary on the treasure hunt by French broadcaster Canal+ said earlier this year that the value of the owl is estimated to be €150,000 (£126,000). A New Path The world of cho.