Golden Owl Treasure is Found after a 30-Year Hunt!

After more than 30 years of searching, by tens of thousands of passionate treasure seekers, France’s elusive Golden Owl was recovered sometime during the night of October 2/3. I wrote about this trouble-plagued contest back in 2021. If you’d like a more detailed version of its dramatic backstory, you’ll find it here. As I type, neither the identity of the victor nor the location of the treasure have been revealed. But, Michel Becker, one of the contest’s creators, has confirmed that the hunt is over. He’s ordered the army of treasure seekers who have been scouring the mainland of France to STOP DIGGING!

Highlights of the Hunt

As early as 1978, a man named Régis Hauser had the idea for a treasure hunt that would lead participants from one remote corner of France to the next in search of a golden owl. After choosing the pseudonym Max Valentin, Hauser partnered with artist Michel Becker, who created the gold, silver, and diamond-studded treasure (shown above). Becker also produced illustrations for 11 complex clues, devised by Hauser, that led to the owl’s hiding place.

The official hunt for La Chouette d’Or was launched in April, 1993. Within a month, 50,000 copies of an associated guidebook of clues, titled Sur la trace de la chouette d’or, appeared in bookstores across France. The book presented Hauser’s 11 puzzles that, when solved, led a talented unraveler to the location where a replica of the owl was buried. The lucky contestant who could produce both the replica and an accurate solution for each puzzle would walk away with the Golden Owl, estimated to be worth 1,000,000 francs in 1993—roughly $350,000 today.

Hauser knew the puzzles would be hard to solve but believed that a sleuth with the right combination of brains and tenacity could unearth the replica within a few years. The challenge unleashed a torrent of armchair treasure hunters, known in France as chouetteurs. Over the decades, the hunt has been hampered by a number of setbacks and legal proceedings.

In 2009, Hauser, the only person who knew the solutions to the puzzles, died unexpectedly. Luckily, his lawyer retained a sealed envelope that contained a copy of the solutions. Michel Becker, who the court of Versailles had ruled as the rightful owner of the sparkling statue, assured the devoted chouetteurs that he would continue to honor the original rules of the hunt and the chase continued. In 2020, after years in court, Becker finally obtained rights to the solutions as well.

Chase for Owl or Wild Goose?

When I heard about this story, a part of me wondered if the hunt would forever rest unfruitful. Before his death, Hauser claimed that the chouetteurs had collectively uncovered all the information needed to locate the replica within a few hours. (At that point, treasure seekers had been posting their theories in a public forum moderated by Hauser.) But that was in 2009. In 2021, most of the 11 enigmas seemed well understood, and hundreds if not thousands of holes, dug by disillusioned chouetteurs, scarred the terrains of France.

I’ve been surprised by the diligence of the owl seekers, several of whom have contacted me to see if I could provide them with additional information. I hoped for their sake that the owl was out there but I was clueless as to how to locate it.

And the Winner Is…

For now, the identity of the prizewinner(s) remains a mystery as does the location of the buried replica. Becker has announced that all will be revealed once the authenticity of the replica and the accuracy of the solutions are confirmed. Le Monde, however, reports that Becker’s critics have started to protest, claiming that Becker’s providing of additional clues in recent years has corrupted the original contest. Understandably, thirty years of riddle-cracking can leave you somewhat testy.

All I can hope is that the victor has earned the prize fairly and squarely and that most of the members of this lively community share the sentiments expressed on Discord by one appreciative chouetteur: