Treasure hunt sees fun-loving Edmonton family scoop $100,000

Sherwood Park family finds gold prize first The Duffs from Sherwood Park were the first to make it to the end of a treasure hunt in Edmonton, and claim a $100,000 in gold prize.

A fun-loving Edmonton family has won $100,000 in gold and silver by finding one of three treasure troves hidden in Canadian cities.

Competition company Gold Hunt has buried the same sum in Calgary and Vancouver and teams have been competing to find the loot since Saturday, paying for a treasure map and clues.

The Edmonton hunt ended in less than 24 hours when the Duff family found the prize Saturday evening.

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“We like doing the puzzles, we like being outside, spending time together, we didn’t actually expect to finish the day $100,000 richer but yeah, it’s been a crazy weekend,” Bryon Duff told CTV News Edmonton.

The Duffs' successful strategy was to decipher the clues bought from Gold Hunt at home, then head into the city.

"We didn't do it with the belief that we would find the treasure," Bryon said. "We thought it was a good fit because of all the stuff we do regularly."

The Duffs heard about the Gold Hunt events through their experience with geocaching, an outdoor activity where participants use a Global Positioning System receiver or mobile device to hide and find containers called "geocaches" or "caches."

Gold Hunt said the hidden ticket was found at 8:52 p.m. by Bryon and Jody Duff and their children, 18-year-old Brylee and 16-year-old Logan.

For each hunt, organizers have hidden a certificate that the winners can exchange for $100,000 worth of gold, silver or both.

The competition is still running in Calgary and Vancouver.

Gold Hunt will reveal the location of the prizes once the treasure has been found in all three cities.