Legendary Treasure Hunt Comes to End With Controversial Whodunit as Organizer Refuses to Name Winner

The legendary Golden Owl treasure hunt is finally over 31 years into the quest, according to the statue's sculptor...or is it?

The hunt began in 1993 when Régis Hauser, better known by his pseudonym Max Valentin, buried a bronze owl somewhere in France, then published a book of riddles that contained clues about its whereabouts.

"On The Trail of the Golden Owl," contained 11 riddles, written by Valentin to help seekers locate the statue. The first one to solve the riddles would be awarded with a replica owl, now worth around €150,000 ($164,682).

After Valentin's death in 2009, Michel Becker, who sculpted the original statue, took over the hunt.

On Thursday, Becker announced that the owl had finally been unearthed, according to The Times. However, the lack of details in his announcement has led to widespread skepticism within the treasure hunting community.

Gérard Simon, chairman of the Association des Chercheurs de la Chouette d'Or also known as the Association of Seekers of the Golden Owl, questioned the legitimacy of the find and suggested it was all staged by Becker, and that the owl had "clearly not" been found, The Times reported.

The location of the discovery and the identity of the finder have yet to be revealed.