By Tim Binnall
Authorities in Germany are investigating a strange case wherein a sticky-fingered ne'er-do-well stole 80 goldfish from a man's backyard pond and then mysteriously returned the pilfered creatures a few days later. The weird caper reportedly came to light last Friday in the community of Waldkraiburg when a homeowner phoned police with a rather odd concern. The man explained that he had just returned from vacation and discovered that a sizeable school of goldfish living in a pond on his property had inexplicably vanished while he was gone. Authorities set about investigating the situation, but before they could get very far, the case took an unexpected turn on Monday when the man called the cops with a rather surprising update.
To his astonishment, the homeowner revealed, all of the goldfish were suddenly back in their pond and seemingly unscathed. Rather than attribute the incident so some kind of misunderstanding on the man's part, cops actually believe that someone went to the trouble of stealing all 80 of the animals and then later returned them to the property out of remorse. Baffled by why someone would steal so many goldfish in the first place, police conceded that the identity of the perpetrator is "still a mystery." That said, they still hope to catch the "repentant offender," who could face charges for the bizarre crime, despite their proverbial mea culpa on Monday.