Andy Lowe and Brad Eldredge aren’t professional treasure hunters. But you might not know it from their speedy sleuthing last Wednesday evening.
Lowe, of Buford, and Eldredge, of Cumming, were the winners of the $500 solid gold nugget as they followed the final clue ahead of the other four finalists to the location of the grand prize.
That clue was handed out at the “silent bell” in Hancock Park (a.k.a the Diving Bell) just after 6 p.m.
“You’ll need luck, and Old Lucky, by your side for this one. About 20 paces to your right to be exact. Don’t let your chance go up in smoke.” stated the tightly wrapped, final clue.
Since the pair of puzzlers spent a weekend scouting Dahlonega sights they knew that the old stamp mill at the corner of Morrison Moore Parkway and South Chestatee Street is named Old Lucky, which is 20 paces from the chimney of the Madeleine K. Anthony Park pavilion.
While other treasure hunters thought the clue might have something to do with Shenanigans, Lowe and Eldredge headed straight for the chimney and had the gold in hand within a matter of minutes.
Lowe said he’s planning on giving the nugget to his daughter who helped out with the hunt.
“This was awesome,” said Lowe. “We had an amazing time.”
Publisher Matt Aiken said The Nugget staff had an amazing time too.
“The response from all our treasure hunting readers was awesome,” he said. “I’m not sure I could actually figure out the clues that I was making, but these folks were ready for the next National Treasure.”
As for those clues, if you were stumped, see below for answers:
Clue One: The picture of old time editor W.B. Townsend resulted in the hidden of clue of “In Town.”
Clue Two: The bolded words in the sports section spelled out the message “Where the clay is red and steep.”
Clue Three: The scrambled message in the map was: Find the map, find the gold
Clue Four: The first letter in each sentence in the mysterious Letter to the Editor from S. Dogood spelled out “Five paces from the shining rock.”
Clue Five: The reverse riddle revealed the password phrase “under the flag,” also known as The Nugget masthead, which was The Gold of the News.
Clue Six: The secret equation added up to 1,074, or the address of The Nugget.
That’s where treasure hunters scrambled to dig up the five pieces of the map Wednesday morning.
If you weren’t one of those hunters, don’t worry. A new treasure hunt is in the works for next year.
“So keep the shovels ready,” said Aiken. “More clues are coming.”
