The finding also marks the end of a series of legal and financial battles over the Owl

Organisers “checking the accuracy of the solution that has been submitted”.

A mass 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.

PARIS (AP) — A 31-year-long treasure hunt that drew in thousands of enthusiasts across France appeared to have come to an end Thursday, after official social media accounts linked to the search said the token needed to claim the grand prize had been found. The hunt, “On the Trail of the Golden Owl,” was based on a book of riddles published in 1993. Participants had to solve 11 puzzles in the book — and a 12th one that was hidden — to decipher the exact location of the token. “Don’t go digging!” warned a message on a channel on the chat app Discord with tens of thousands of followers. “We confirm that the Golden Owl countermark was unearthed last night,” the message read, unleashing a wave of sad and crying emojis. “It is therefore useless to go digging.”The solutions provided by those who claimed to have unearthed the token were currently being vetted, the message said.The book, published in 1993 by author Régis Hauser and artist Michel Becker, built a cult-like following with a community of more than 200,000…

An owl statuette which was buried 31 years ago as part of a treasure hunt has reportedly been found in France.