Five-figure loss

Hotel employee went on a spree after work

The thief was mainly after winter sports equipment (symbolic image).(Bild: Claudia Thurner)

Intensified police searches have now led to a brazen thief who had been targeting winter sports articles in the Pitztal valley in Tyrol for a long time. He is a Romanian (55) who worked as a hotel employee. 

In the months of January and February 2025, an increasing number of ski thefts were reported in the municipality of St. Leonhard i.P., with the crime scenes primarily concentrated in the Mandarfen area. Intensified search measures were therefore directed at these thefts over a longer period of time.

Hotel employee on the prowl
A suspect in the Mandarfen area has now been identified and provisionally arrested. He is a 55-year-old Romanian national who was employed in a hotel in the Pitztal valley during the current winter season.

25 pairs of skis in the car
A large number of stolen goods of various kinds were found in the suspect's car. In addition to 25 pairs of skis and snowboards as well as various winter sports items such as helmets, gloves, sunglasses etc., the stolen items also included numerous foodstuffs and luxury foods (alcoholic beverages) as well as various tools.

Charge at large
The suspect confessed during questioning and will be released. The total value of the stolen items amounts to a low five-digit euro sum. Further police investigations are concentrating on assigning the seized items to the currently still numerous unknown victims.