The G.Thomas Jewelers/Manhattan Running Company Jingle Bell Rock was found Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan’s CiCo Park.
It was found by Erin Schwandt of Olsburg and Allie Hoehn of Manhattan.
“Well, there was a clue about looking high, and we’d kind of figured out the boundary line,” Schwandt said. “So we went to CiCo Park and we saw the sledding hill and we thought, ‘Well maybe that’s high.’
“We started looking around there and we found it.”
The Jingle Bell Rock was found near the swimming pool at CiCo Park by the walking trail.
“It was real exciting,” Hoehn said. “I was actually on the other side of the pool from where she was, and then I couldn’t find her so I kept calling her. Then I got over to where she was and then she was just at the bottom of the hill screaming.”
Schwandt and Hoehn said this is the fifth year they’ve hunted for the Jingle Bell Rock and are first-time winners.
Hoehn advises next year’s hunters to connect the dots when it comes to the clues.
“Try to put multiple clues together and see if there’s a theme throughout the clues,” she said. “It’s what I like to do. They usually lead you in a direction.
Of course, listening to Manhattan Broadcasting Company’s family of radio stations doesn’t hurt, too.
“That helps,” Schwandt said. “Get up early.”
A full break of this year’s clues and explanations for them can be read here.
