• Charley Hannagan | channagan@syracuse.com

Syracuse, NY – Chrissy LaRocca and her daughter Crystal Fontana used every tool in their arsenal to uncover The Post-Standard Treasure Hunt Medallion on the West Shore Trail of Onondaga Lake this morning.

They read the newspaper for clues, checked the postings on Syracuse.com, looked at The Post-Standard's Facebook page for tips, and worked with other treasure hunters.See the clues and what they mean.

The Cicero mother-daughter team don’t subscribe to the paper and were only eligible for the smaller $1,000 prize instead of the $2,000 prize awarded to subscribers.

However, in recognition of their use of all of the Post-Standard’s print and digital formats to discover the medallion, the company decided to double their prize to $2,000.

The team found out that they had been awarded the larger amount this morning when they arrived at The Post-Standard’s Syracuse offices to collect their prize.

“That’s so awesome!” gasped Fontana, 17, her cheeks flushing with amazement. “Thank you so much.”

“Do I have to give up the medallion? Ever since we found it I’ve had it clutched in my hand,” she said, unfolding her fingers to show the white circle with green printing on it.

No, she was assured, you don’t have to give it up. The medallion is yours to keep.

Their odyssey began Sunday when the first clues were published in the paper. This was the first time they’ve played the treasure hunt game, said LaRocca, 38.

David Lassman / The Post-StandardWinners of the Post-Standard Treasure Hunt are Chrissy LaRocca and her daughter Crystal Fontana of Cicero, who found the medallion on the West Shore Trail along Onondaga Lake.

Even though it was mid-winter break week and she could sleep in, Fontana, a senior at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, got up at 6 each morning to begin looking for the medallion.

Fontana searched at least four hours a day alone before her mom, who works at Americar in North Syracuse, joined her after work to look for a couple of more hours.

The women would discuss the search and the clues every night with friends and relatives, she said.

“It’s crazy what this thing does to you,” Fontana said.

At one point they walked 2 miles, almost the entire length, of the West Shore Trail looking for the medallion, LaRocca said.

They saw other treasure hunters in their search. Friday, Fontana hooked up with another woman to scour several areas in Onondaga Lake Park.

She and her mother returned that night, searching along a pier getting drenched by the wind and the rain before they returned home.

“It was really cold when we were out there looking for it. We kind of wanted to give up so many times, but we just had a feeling it was on the West Shore Trail,” Fontana said.

They resumed their search at 5:30 a.m. today after checking the clues posted on The Post-Standard’s Facebook page.

The women walked slowly along the West Shore Trail, at the snail's pace suggested by the clue. LaRocca walked in front of the trees and Fontana behind.

At about 6:30 a.m., they spied the medallion wired to a fallen tree branch about a half mile from the Long Branch Park entrance.

View full sizeThe Post-StandardHere's the spot in Onondaga Lake Park where the medallion was found

Other hunters were also in the area. The women said they kept their find quiet until they could unwind the wire that held the medallion to the branch.

Unable to reach someone at the paper at that time of the morning, the women went out for breakfast before claiming their prize. As they ate they checked the medallion chatter on Facebook.

Out of respect for their joint search the day before, Fontana told her fellow treasure hunter that they had found the medallion.

As they were collecting their prize a friend texted them, "You should probably skip the medallion hunt today."

It’s a good thing they didn't.