German ‘cookie monster’ returns stolen golden biscuit (VIDEO)
A policeman removes what appears to be the golden “Leibniz Keks” cookie from a horse statue at Leibniz University in Hanover, Germany, on February 5, 2013. The gilded cookie went missing in January, and someone later tried to blackmail the Bahlsen company saying they would return the trademark cookie if the company delivered free cookies to children’s hospitals.
The jig is up for Germany’s “cookie monster” who on Tuesday returned a missing golden biscuit and ended an intriguing scandal in Hannover.
In January, a 44-pound gilded bronze sculpture depicting a Bahlsen cookie went missing from out front of the company’s headquarters.
A local newspaper then received two ransom notes – complete with letters cut from magazines, 1940s style – and photos of someone dressed like Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster eating the treat.
The ransom notes said cookie-maker Bahlsen should donate cookies to a local children’s hospital to ensure the sculpture’s safe return.
Today, that missing piece was found hanging from around the neck of a horse sculpture at Leibniz University, The Associated Press reported.
Bahlsen issued a statement during the saga that said it wouldn’t be blackmailed, but pledged to deliver 52,000 packages to 52 different organizations to get the trademark treat back, Spiegel.de said.
The company also offered $1,350 reward for information leading to a happy reunion.
NBC News said the golden goodie had hung outside Bahlsen’s front door since 1913.
“I am very happy and I hope that it is really our cookie and that we can soon put it up again,” company CEO Werner Bahlsen said in a statement, according to NBC.
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