Charlie Brown told some treasure hunters Thursday they’d been fishing for a red herring.
But was Charlie a red herring, too?
Five clues into the Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt, experienced noodlers were zeroing in Thursday on Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, some of them abandoning Harriet Island in the process. Early clues drew dozens of hunters to the island and nearby Prospect Park, but more were beginning to believe Harriet Island was a red herring, a decoy park that draws hunters away from the $10,000 medallion’s true location.
Or, as they call it, the “Red Harriet.”
The medallion hasn’t been hidden at Harriet Island since 1996, when it was tucked inside a chewing tobacco tin. But the park on the west bank of the Mississippi River has drawn hordes of hunters most years since then.
Clues drawing people to Harriet Island this year refer to water, panning for gold and the new West Side home of “Ma Press.” Harriet Island, near the Pioneer Press’ new office, has a gold-panning sluice in its playground.
But other clues hinted at beer and birds, suggesting the nature sanctuary that once was home to the North Star Brewery. Then Clue 5 dropped a bombshell: “If Huck Finn had a boy twin, He might have camped here awhile.”
That reminded hunters of the Chuck Finn statue near the rear entrance of CHS Field, a short walk from the sanctuary. Chuck Finn was designed by former Pioneer Press artist Tim Van Ness for the 2001 “Charlie Brown Around Town” public art project.
Stacey King and Emily Sharot, both of White Bear Lake, already were tinkering with Peanuts characters because of the “goes well with beer” in Clue 4 (peanuts go well with beer). Huck Finn’s twin sent them straight to Bruce Vento, but they couldn’t ignore Harriet Island.
“I went to Harriet,” King said. “But that was too obvious. They were not going to give it away on Clue 2, unless it’s a suicidal clue writer.”
“Panning for gold?” Sharot said. “That was a red herring.”
Dan Doree of St. Paul was hunting at Bruce Vento, but said he wouldn’t doubt the sanctuary was a red herring, too. The clue-writer’s notebook holds another week’s worth of riddles.
“It’s too early to be pinpointed to one park already,” he said. “It’s not enough to make the park fit the clues. You need to make the clues pick the park.”
Todd Hubert of St. Paul said he almost went to Harriet Island.
“A lot of people are getting sucked over there,” he said. “I was tempted. There are so many clues every year that fit Harriet Island.”
“We call it Red Harriet,” said noodler Matt Koskie of Hastings, who also was hunting at Bruce Vento. “It’s been there before, but since then it’s been nothing but red herring fodder.”
Koskie said a good red herring doesn’t exclude the park where the medallion actually is hidden, but it draws hunters to another park that seems too good to pass up.
Despite the surge toward the sanctuary, many people still were digging around Harriet Island on Thursday, convinced that Huck Finn’s twin would camp and fish (Clue 5 terms) on the Mississippi, not a bird-watchers’ pond.
“It could be they’re all on it,” Koskie said. “Who knows?”
The Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt is presented by Fury Jeep. See clues, rules and more at TwinCities.com/TreasureHunt. First printed copies of the paper with the next day’s clues are available about 11:30 nightly at Gabe’s by the Park.
Copyright 2016 Pioneer Press.