A decades-long treasure hunt for a golden owl statuette in France finally came to an end after 31 years on Thursday.

The treasure—a replica of the original golden owl statuette, which is made of gold, silver and diamonds—was buried somewhere in France back in 1993 by Régis Hauser, the author of the treasure hunt book On The Trail Of The Golden Owl. Written under the pseudonym Max Valentin, the book contains 11 riddles that solved the mystery of the treasure's location.

The finder of the buried replica will be awarded with the original statuette, which is estimated to be worth around €150,000 (around $165,000), according to a documentary on the treasure hunt by French broadcaster Canal+.

Michel Becker photographed in Paris, France in July 30, 2023 in a reveal of the golden owl statuette. Becker became the official organizer of the treasure hunt in 2021. Michel Becker photographed in Paris, France in July 30, 2023 in a reveal of the golden owl statuette. Becker became the official organizer of the treasure hunt in 2021. Baptiste Giroudon/Paris Match via Getty Images

The unearthing was announced on Thursday in a post on Discord by Michel Becker, who created the golden owl statuette. He also did the illustrations for the puzzles in the treasure hunt book.

Becker's Discord post said: "We confirm that the Golden Owl countermark was unearthed last night, simultaneously with a solution upload to the online verification system. It is therefore useless to go digging on the location you assume to be the cache. As previously announced, we are verifying the validity of the proposed solution."

No other information about the finder or the location of the item was revealed.

The unearthing of the statuette comes after the hunt was embroiled in legal battles for several years after Hauser died in 2009, with not all treasure seekers being receptive of Becker's role as the new organizer of the hunt.

Becker became the official organizer in 2021, which was announced in a press release via the company Les Éditions de la Chouette d'Or .

After the legal rows ended, Becker—who originally did not have any knowledge of the statuette's location—was shown the solution of the hunt in a sealed envelope held by Hauser's family. He then traveled to the location of the buried treasure to verify it was still there.

Over the years, Becker released more clues about statuette, with tens of thousands going on the hunt for the buried treasure.

Some reportedly fear that statuette may have been found using a metal detector, going against the rules of the hunt, which say that the finder must show they correctly solved the riddles and did not come across the statuette by chance.

Newsweek has contacted Becker for comment via the company Les Éditions de la Chouette d'Or.

A close up of the golden owl statuette held by Michel Becker in Paris, France on July 30, 2023. On Thursday, Becker announced that the replica of the golden owl statuette, which had been buried... A close up of the golden owl statuette held by Michel Becker in Paris, France on July 30, 2023. On Thursday, Becker announced that the replica of the golden owl statuette, which had been buried for 31 years, had been unearthed. Baptiste Giroudon/Paris Match via Getty Images

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