Medallion Hunt ends after only two days

It took only two days for Matt and Ashley Dwyer to find the prize in the 2016 Eagle Medallion Hunt.

Following clues about the Riverfest’s namesake and a paradox, Matt Dwyer said he found the medallion after looking for parks near Dry Creek in east Wichita. He eventually made his way to an old-style drinking fountain in Edgemoor Park, near Ninth and Edgemoor.

“It was a metal water fountain that was pedal-operated and had the name Murdock on it, and Murdock seems to be a clue in everything because of the founder of the paper, and I said, ‘If it’s going to be anywhere, it’s going to be in this water fountain, pedal to the medal,” he said. “And I looked underneath there, didn’t see anything at first, then I saw on the backside this piece of duct tape and went, ‘There it is.’ ”

The first day’s clue said: “First to find the medallion will take home a car. So pedal to the metal or you won’t get far.”

The second day’s clue mentioned a paradox, which Dwyer took to mean Dry Creek.

The fountain where the medallion was hidden was near the park’s tennis courts, the skateboard area and Dry Creek.

Dwyer said he immediately tried to reach his wife on FaceTime, but she didn’t answer, so he called her on their home phone.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Ashley Dwyer said. “He’s the type that would play a trick, like he would cut that out from the paper and make a fake one, he’s that type, and so it took me a minute to realize he was serious.”

The Dwyers have two sons, Max, who is 3, and Charlie, 4 months. Matt Dwyer said the family does the hunt every year, and he thinks it’s a nice way to learn about the city and get the kids out of the house. The family have been diligent medallion hunters for years, always coming up just a bit short.

“We’ve been either right on top of it or darn close every year,” Matt Dwyer said.

The prize for finding the medallion is a pick of 13 new cars, courtesy of EddysEverything.com. While Ashley Dwyer said they don’t have a car picked out yet, Matt said the car will either be used to replace Ashley’s car with a broken air-conditioning unit, or to help his parents, who were recently injured in a car accident.

“It’s definitely a blessing, for sure, and will be very useful,” Matt said.

Here are the two clues. All of the clues, and their meanings, will be published in The Eagle in coming days.

DAY ONE

First to find the medallion will take home a car.

So pedal to the metal or you won’t get far.

To keep people and things safe, the rules do abide.

If you don’t follow them, you can forget the ride.

DAY TWO

The festival’s namesake, it’s awfully large.

You’ll want to go smaller; no room for a barge.

While you are hunting, you won’t see docks

What can we say? It’s a paradox.

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 7:38 PM with the headline "Medallion Hunt ends after only two days."