After 11 cryptic clues and a week of bone-chilling temps, veteran treasure hunter Steve Sanftner cracked the code and walked away with the prize in the 2026 Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt. The medallion?
Hidden in plain sight inside a white-painted Coca-Cola can, tucked just east of the corner of St. Clair Avenue and Grotto Street-right off the sidewalk into Linwood Park.
This year’s hunt was anything but a walk in the park-despite ending in one. With temperatures hovering in the single digits and a riddle-heavy clue set that had searchers bouncing between multiple “L” parks, it took until the eleventh clue for someone to finally zero in on the right spot. That someone was Sanftner, a seasoned participant who clearly knows how to read between the lines-and snowbanks.
The payoff? A record-setting $15,000 prize package, courtesy of Cub Foods and the St.
Paul Winter Carnival. That’s the biggest bounty in the history of the event, which this year celebrates its 140th anniversary.
Talk about a milestone moment.
And while Linwood Park has played a supporting role in the hunt’s long history, this marks the first time the medallion has officially been hidden within its boundaries. The closest it came before was back in 1969, when it was wedged between two rocks near Victoria Street, just south of what would later become Interstate 35E.
For longtime fans of the hunt, this year’s edition was a throwback to the more drawn-out, mentally demanding chases of the past. The last two hunts wrapped up in just seven clues, making this year’s 11-clue puzzle feel like a true test of endurance and brainpower.
In the end, it was Sanftner who stood tall, proving once again that persistence-and a sharp eye for detail-still pay off in one of Minnesota’s most beloved winter traditions.