Legend has it there’s $169 million hidden at this island
<p>Fancy yourself a treasure hunter? Test your luck at this island.</p>
<p><strong>The legend</strong></p>
<p>In 1716, Olivier Levasseur was acting as a French privateer (a person authorised by the government to attack foreign ships) around the islands of the Indian Ocean. He was known as ‘La Buse’, meaning The Buzzard, because of the speed with which he attacked his targets. But it wasn’t long before he decided he could make more money on his own, so turned to piracy instead. In 1721, Levasseur and his group of three pirate ships came across a Portuguese galleon called Nossa Senhora do Cabo on the island of Reunion. The pirates boarded the ship and killed the crew, before making a staggering discovery. The ship was carrying an extraordinary hoard of gold, silver, precious stones, diamonds, coins and more. They divided the booty and Levasseur took the largest share. It is believed that he buried it on the islands of Mahe in the Seychelles, but no one else knew the exact location. The pirate was captured and executed in 1730 and took his valuable secret to the grave. The treasure would allegedly be worth $169 million today.</p>
<p><strong>The clue</strong></p>
<p>The only hint Levasseur left as to the whereabouts of his treasure was a scrap of paper with 17 lines of jumbled symbols. People have tried to crack it for almost 300 years, using Greek, Hebrew, astrology, mythology and anything else they could think of for clues.</p>
<p><strong>The search</strong></p>
<p>One man, John Cruise-Wilkins, is convinced he knows where Levasseur’s treasure is hidden. His father, Reginald, began the search in the 1950s and continues until his death in 1977. John believes he has cracked the code and that the treasure map uses a complex riddle inspired by the 12 Labours of Hercules. He has narrowed the location down to the Bel Ombre area on the northern coast of the island. He has been searching tirelessly for years and spent a considerable amount of his own money. And though he is yet to have much success, John remains confident he is on the right track.</p>
