Winter Carnival Medallion Found

ST. PAUL (WCCO) -- The St. Paul Winter Carnival medallion was found on Saturday.

A Woodbury woman, her mother and her boyfriend found it early Saturday morning. They say it was clue number seven that steered them in the right direction.

"Leave your kettle and test your mettle
Out in the frigid cold
With a nip to brace and a bit of grace
You will have the item to hold."

Turns out a bit of Grace Lane runs by Battle Creek Park.

Mary Hermes, her daughter Molly and Molly's boyfriend Dan Murphy headed the park around 1 a.m. After more than an hour spent hunting, they called it quits.

On their way out, they checked out a tree, but decided someone else had been there before. That's when Molly got lucky.

"Dan slipped, and in order for him to get up without pushing me down the hill, I had to move over," said Molly Hermes. "I sat down, looked to my right, and it was about three inches from my right thigh, just sitting there. So we're pretty sure it was in the tree and somebody dug it out and flung it with the snow."

The trio will receive the full $10,000 prize.

Murphy, who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, plans to use some of his winnings to send care packages to friends deployed overseas.

Both mother and daughter have been hunting for Winter Carnival medallions since they were young, but it's only Murphy's second year hunting.