Oct 10, 2005 - Claremont, Calif. -

Harvey Mudd College alumni and best friends Mark Moeglein '87 and David Somers '87 solved the twelfth and final puzzle in the best-selling book "The Treasure's Trove" and will share the prize: a $54,000 jewel-encrusted beetle.

Featured in a story in the Boston Globe and on numerous treasure hunting Web sites, the two friends located the token that was redeemable for the real treasure in a knot hole in a tree in Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Along with members of their families, they had been working on deciphering the clues in Michael Stadther's popular book.

Somers, who is a professor of cognitive psychology at Boston University, was known for his treasure hunting skills while at Mudd, having solved the notorious "Case of the Missing Case." According to Moeglein, who is an engineer at Qualcomm in Oregon: "As I have said many times, David deserves the vast majority of the credit for the find."

Somers engaged his three daughters in trying to solve the puzzle and also gave a copy of the book to Moeglein's daugher as a gift. Moeglein's wife, Carolyn Wetzel Moeglein '84, added another Mudd dimension to the case as they analyzed the many clues. In the end, it was the two college chums who made the trek to South Dakota to locate the treasure.

Details about book and the discovery of the last of the 12 treasures can be found on the "The Treasure's Trove" Web site.

Watch your mailbox for the full story about these treasure hunting alums, who will be featured in the next issue of the college magazine, Harvey Mudd College Bulletin.