Easter theft: – Offering a bounty: – Completely incomprehensible

Aksel Robertsen and his family were on their way up to the cabin in Svartnes when they discovered that something was not as it should be.

– We saw from a kilometer away that our sled was gone. We called the police right away.

That’s what Robertsen says to Dagbladet, which is now offering a reward of NOK 10,000 for information that can lead to the sled being solved.

– I was of course pissed off, he replies, when asked how he reacted when he first realized that the sled had been stolen.

– This amputated the whole of Easter.

Robertsen adds this to the newspaper iFinnmark, which first reported the case.

Message to the thief

After the sledge disappeared, Robertsen decided to place an advertisement in the iFinnmark newspaper. The advertisement should not have been published, but Robertsen says he was instead contacted by journalists from the newspaper, who wanted to hear the background to the message.

– It was quite clear that it was a communication of a message to the person who stole the sled from me.

Easter is underway: – Lots of traffic

The message in the advertisement read as follows:

“You who stole our BK super team from Svartnes in Vardø, know that your paths will be filled with pain, illness and sorrow.”

– Bottom of the ladder

Robertsen is now asking the thief to mark the sled with his name, and to leave it somewhere it will be found and brought back to the family.

– It’s very embarrassing for the person concerned to come back with it and get fresh, but it’s better than wearing it there. It should be marked with my name and put back so it can be found, he says, adding that it was difficult to explain the incident to the children.

– It is completely incomprehensible to the children when people steal. I have explained that thieves are at the bottom of the social ladder, but they don’t know what that means.

Promises bounty

Shortly after they discovered that the sled was missing, Aksel and his wife May Helen shared a wanted post on Facebook, where they promised a reward of NOK 10,000 for tips that led to the sled being found.

The post was shared 133 times on Wednesday evening.

– People are very engaged. It doesn’t seem like it’s the bounty that people care about, it’s more that theft is very little accepted up here. It’s broken, and it’s very rare for that to happen here, says Robertsen, and adds:

– We have had the sled standing out here for nine years now. Nothing like that has happened before.

Cared for a sick “hedgehog” – received a shock message

Big value

Aksel estimates that the sled has a value of around NOK 50,000.

– In 2015, we paid NOK 36,000 for it. Due to price increases and inflation, it is probably worth around NOK 50,000 now.

Robertsen says that the theft put a damper on the family’s holiday, and thanks everyone who has helped them this Easter.

– There were a lot of changes. All of the logistics at Easter had to be planned again. Now we’ve had to borrow a sled then, luckily.

– People are very good at helping each other up here, he concludes.