Bend resident solves ‘Hidden Bottle Hunt’ riddles, finds bottle’s hiding spot at Hollinshead Park

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – On the last day of this year’s statewide “Hidden Bottle Hunt,” Bend resident Shane Chatham spent all of Sunday morning searching Hollinshead Park in northeast Bend – and when the fifth and final clue was posted, he made his find, very close by.

Chatham found the commemorative bottle placed there by the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative and Oregon BottleDrop. They said he was “lucky to be within 10 feet of the actual hiding spot” when the last clue was pointed.

He found the bottle in a wagon wheel near an old shed.

It was the second year of the Hidden Bottle Hunt, actually six separate, simultaneous hunts, geographically dispersed in parks and trails across the state.

The winners get to keep the commemorative bottle and select a BottleDrop nonprofit partner to receive a $1,000 donation through the “Containers for Change” program. For Chatham, the choice was the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council.

Here’s those five clues for Central Oregon’s “Zone 4” hunt:

DAY 1

Reduce the field down to two
To find Zone 4’s hidden bounty

Seek Seek Qua-t you want to,
But not in this namesake county

Don’t get stuck in a porcine battle
Cut Mad Bear’s county that’s replete with cattle

DAY 2

You’re one step closer to mining the gold
This county’s Aunt took them in from the cold
She charmed Sourdough with stylish flair
Last wishes fulfilled by Abigail’s heir
This hunt impels you to use your wit –
Come on now, Yukon do it!

DAY 3

The Depression hit, and finances dried up
This town looked for a way to keep its chin up.
Dutch floated a grand plan to bring in the masses
An event that hailed the town’s finest lasses.
Queen reigned supreme, court on cygnet dreams,
Designs and arches each year surpasses.

DAY 4

Moira’s Johnny is no appleseed
Butlers and pilots for every need
Apples don’t grow in this district anymore
But Johnny would be at home in this store
The very last one on earth of its kind –
A place where time and technology can rewind!

DAY 5

Travel the lane to a former timber ranch homestead,
Where crops were shared and dairy cows bred.

A life began in an atomic blast
Peaceful cultivation will help it last.

Your spirits won’t be dragging –
Lily’s shed helps with the conceal

Keep those tongues from wagon –
This treasure is for wheel!