Capital area police have posted Facebook updates about a misunderstanding over a pair of balloons, the recovery of one of them to its rightful owner, and Finding Nemo.
The story began June 26, when capital area police were alerted that someone believed a parachute was floating off the coast of Álftanes. Preparing for the worst, police arrived on the scene, along with firefighters, rescuers and the Coast Guard.
After an hour of searching, the police soon discovered that the “parachute” in question was simply a pair of semi-deflated balloons – one featuring Hello Kitty and the other, Nemo from Finding Nemo. One officer posed with the Hello Kitty balloon, which can be seen above. The Nemo balloon, however, eluded police capture and was not recovered.
This photo would end up setting off a new series of events, as the mother of a young girl in Álftanes who lost the balloons on June 17 contacted police on the matter, apologising for the trouble the balloon caused authorities. She explained that the balloons had slipped out of the family home through an open door, and were never seen again, until they saw the police’s photo and accompanying story.
The police turned to Facebook again, describing how the mother and daughter showed up at the nearby police station in Hafnarfjörður with flowers for the officers. The Hello Kitty balloon was then returned to its rightful owner.
“They were very apologetic but the whole thing was unnecessary,” the police wrote. “[The rescue mission] was of course not their fault. We believe it is far worse that we lost Nemo.”
The police say they consider the matter now closed, as “Hello Kitty has come home, and Nemo has hopefully found his father,” referring to the eponymous Disney movie’s plot.
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