Anonymous ‘egg lady’ hiding hundreds in cash around Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Ark. – A treasure hunt that sounds like a fairy tale is leaping off the pages of a storybook and scurrying under Jacksonville landmarks.

Each day a golden, silver or jack-o’-lantern-styled egg filled with $100 to $500 in cash is leading people like Lindey Watkins to hunt around the city.

“Anything shiny, or anything that might look like an egg, I do stop and look,” Watkins said. “Everybody wants to find a treasure, and this is our chance.”

A Facebook page called Jacksonville Arkansas Golden Egg Hunt grew to hundreds of followers in days. They watch for clues and riddles from an anonymous benefactor who they call the Egg Lady.

No one knows who she is, but she tells her followers she came into a large sum of money and decided to pay it forward.

Kierstin Rhineberger lives in Jacksonville and followed the page after learning of it Tuesday.

“That’s an angel people from heaven because there’s a lot of people in Jacksonville who need help,” Rhineberger said.

KARK 4 News met the mysterious Egg Lady, who said the decision to use eggs was a spur-of-the-moment decision because it was what she had at the house.

She said she wanted to do something that would help people learn to know their neighbors and the town she loves. All she asks of those who find the eggs is to send a picture back to her page.

“When they open it up and they see the money in there, it’s nothing but pure joy,” she said.

The Egg Lady said that 300 eggs will be hidden over 300 days. The 21 eggs hidden as of Sept. 24 have been mostly outside parks, businesses and public buildings. She added that no location used before will be used again, and a list of used locations is available on her page.

Avid fans like Watkins will even change the route of their walking or driving habits to adjust to the search.

“I have one friend, she checks the same place, every day every morning. She said eventually it will be there,” Watkins said. “I’m not going to lie, I did start putting it on my Google Map where you can make a little list of the places she’s already put it.”

Many involved in the hunt say they feel like kids as they look for help to solve adult problems.

“More people should do more for each other,” the Egg Lady said. “The world would be such a better place.”

When asked why keep whose responsible a mystery, the Egg Lady gave an “egg-cellent” answer.

“A Tooth Fairy, nobody ever sees them. Nobody ever sees Santa Claus, and you don’t see the Easter Bunny,” she said. “You’ll never see the golden Egg Lady.”

She said there will be an egg-stra special event on the 300th and last day, a multi-step race for a grand prize bigger than any other. Until then, get cracking.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.