The treasure hunt, launched in 1993, captivated thousands with the promise of a golden owl valued at around €150,000 (£125,000) as the ultimate reward.

The hunt began with the release of On the Trail of the Golden Owl, a book of riddles crafted by French author Régis Hauser in collaboration with artist Michel Becker. The book presented 11 difficult puzzles – and a hidden 12^th one – that held the key to locating a hidden owl token.

To officially claim the prize, the winning player could not simply find it with a metal detector but would have to submit the replica, along with answers to all the book’s riddles.

Over the years, On the Trail of the Golden Owl attracted a passionate community of more than 200,000 fans, or “Owlers,” from across France and beyond.

One 30-year-old man told France Inter radio he had spent all his weekends over the past two years searching for the owl and had at times found himself digging in the middle of the night. “I’m disappointed because I thought I was close, but at the same time relieved that it’s stopping,” he reportedly said.

Jo Bartley, from Whitstable, Kent, runs the GoldenOwlHunt.com website and has previously travelled to France with her daughter to search for the prize.

“People all over the world have been searching for this treasure for decades,” she told one news source. “It’s been an amazing experience for me personally, I’ve gained so much knowledge, made so many friends and dreamed of solving this for so many years.”