True Icelandic Crime Stores: The Grand Larceny That Shook Ísafjörður

One gloomy afternoon, Ísafjörður on the edge of Iceland was struck with tragedy, reports local newspaper Bæjarins besta.

On Monday December 11, as the townsfolk warmed their bodies in the town’s church and their souls through beautiful Christmas music that decked the halls, terror struck. One by one the people realised that their phones, wallets, keys and whatnot had disappeared.

The hunt is on

Immediately the police got on the case and the entire police force was sent out to investigate. Both officers scoured the streets chasing unclear leads and questioning potential witnesses–and suspects. A plea was also put out to the public asking for assistance.

After a thorough investigation two men were arrested–the case seemed closed. But we were wrong, we were all so wrong. The men might be found, but the loot was nowhere to be found.

Police by Art Bicnick

Buried treasures

And thus began the second part of the chase. But now the detectives stopped acting like Dog the bounty hunter and instead took cues from Indiana Jones or that movie with Nicolas Cage “National Treasure”.

And all those hours watching Nicolas Cage movies paid off–the police were triumphant! But they were also tight lipped. “The loot was found in a very good hiding spot,” the police said.

The anonymous source

But good journalists never stop working and the people at Bæjarins besta took up the cause and investigated further. And following their investigation a source close to the paper revealed that, as in a Western, the loot had been stashed in the post office–it’s always the post office.

With that was concluded a real life Nordic Noir story. The thriller has already caught the eye of BBC producers who are set to turn it into a seven part miniseries starring Nicolas Cage.