Nina Droff / Photo credit: Alessandro Bremec / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP 13:54 p.m., April 23, 2023

The huge treasure hunt for the golden owl, created by Max Valentin, celebrates its 30th anniversary this Sunday. But if the statuette remains untraceable, enthusiasts continue to rack their brains to solve the last riddles, which could allow to find the treasure. Europe 1 met one of these passionate "chouetteurs".

This Sunday, the golden owl hunt is 30 years old. A huge treasure hunt that was launched in 1993 by a certain Max Valentin. On the night of April 23 to 24, 1993, the burial of an owl statuette somewhere in France kicked off an exciting treasure hunt that is still not finished. Eleven riddles to solve and 30 years later, the statuette is still nowhere to be found. This does not prevent the fans, who are called the "Chouetteurs", to continue the research.

"I fell back into it"

The "chouetteurs" do not give up, even after 30 years. Kaspius, president of the official owl association, began his research when he was still a teenager. "I started in 1997 to communicate with the author. It was by Minitel at the time, at my grandparents' house in the summer. I had started, but I didn't finish it. I rediscovered it much later. And so, I fell back into it."

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Many of the puzzles have been solved by Kaspius and the other hunters, but even so, it remains very difficult to determine the exact location of the owl. "The last riddle, no one can ever really decode. The east side is considered to be the potential area. Now there's nothing 100% safe on it."

"We're not going to stop looking"

But all are convinced that the owl will eventually be found. "We are approaching, we are continuing, and I am hopeful that she will be found soon. It's really an exciting hunt. We're not going to stop looking, now that we're launched. We will be able to decipher it sooner or later."

And the "chouetteurs" will meet this Sunday to celebrate the 30th anniversary and discuss the riddles in order to perhaps find the countermark. Especially since this golden owl has a value of 150,000 euros.