LONGVIEW, Wash. -- Several Longview residents thought they'd won an Easter egg contest only to learn they’d been duped when they went to claim prizes.

A prankster had planted fake Easter eggs.

Longview’s newspaper, The Daily News, holds an annual Easter Egg Contest, with clues printed in the newspaper.

"It's kind of sad when people come in and they are all excited, and they've got this egg and they think they've won. And we have to say, ‘Ooh, sorry that is an impostor egg,’" said Nikkol Nagle of The Daily News.

Readers try to decipher the riddle and find the elusive egg.

"The clues sometimes don't mean the same thing that you are thinking about," explains reader and contest participant Rickey Mathenia.

The winning egg is hidden in a public place, such as a park. Whoever finds it wins a pair of gift certificates worth $500.

Few people know where this one special egg is hidden.

"It's top, top secret," said Mat Woodard of the Daily News.

When three people came into the newspaper Thursday claiming to have found the winning egg, the staff was puzzled.

"I noticed that it wasn't the egg we hid," Woodard said.

It turns out a prankster had hidden impostor eggs with type written notes offering congratulations. It is not clear who is behind the prank or what is the motive.

And if the pranks weren’t enough, The Daily News said the real egg is now missing.

Contest organizers went to check on the official egg Friday afternoon and it was gone.

So far, no one has come forward with the official egg to claim their prize.