Illegal search

Treasures hidden under 30 kilos of “Klumpert”

She had lured the investigators onto her own trail with her self-presentation. The illegal prospector from Braunau openly displayed her finds and did not hide them from the police when they came knocking. There was a lot of junk in around 80 find bags, but also some treasures.

On her own YouTube channel, she proudly showed what she dug out of the earth in the Innviertel region - and elsewhere in the world. And that proved fatal for a 53-year-old woman from Braunau. Not only did other treasure hunters with metal probes watch her videos, but experts from the Federal Monuments Office also took notice.

"Vole" found quickly
As it was unclear whether the Russian-born woman, who also takes part in international probe-hunting competitions, was legally hunting for treasure, the Upper Austrian State Office of Criminal Investigation was put on the case. The theft experts from the Department for Art and Cultural Crimes did not take long to find out the identity and place of residence of the "vole". And knocked on her door with a search warrant and an expert from the Federal Monuments Office.

Lots of bric-a-brac, little gold
Nothing was on display in the Innviertel woman's apartment, the finds were all hoarded. The authorities seized 80 bags, around 30 kilos. After examination, it turned out that there was a lot of worthless trash and lost coins from past decades, rifle bullets and a cannonball. But there were also two handfuls of valuable pieces among them: Roman coins and fibulae, i.e. clasps.

Because the prospector did not ask the landowners for permission to search and did not share the finds 50-50, she is being charged with embezzlement. In addition, finds must be reported to the monument office or police