Warning tape missing from Saarburg police station - Hermeskeil sends replacements

A local police alert is out today in the Konz-Saarburg police district, after two reels of warning tape used to cordon off crime scenes were found missing from the upper drawer of the deputy inspector's filing cabinet on Tuesday. All three weekday patrol cars were scanning the area to look for anyone suspected of taking it out of the police station from under the noses of the officers.

In a further twist in this tale of intrigue, tape from a very similar reel (see photo) has appeared along a route used in a Dutch fitness club's treasure hunt starting at a central hotel and finishing in Trassem.

Some of the tape found in the police investigation

When asked at an emergency press conference if any arrests had been made, Insp. Waldemar Bauer-Töpel said that they had narrowed their investigation down to a tourist camping site just outside the town. A close eye was being kept on the area. Inspector Bauer-Töpel said, "We are at an early stage in our investigations, but if it transpires that the perpetrator came from the Netherlands, a European Arrest Warrant is not out of the question."

Our reporter at the press conference asked the inspector if he still had enough tape in case it was needed. The inspector said, "We have had a supply of warning tape here ever since the incident with the pervert up the tree in 1995. In fact, I think it was the same roll, so it has some intrinsic value. So no, we do not have any warning tape at this time. But we have asked our colleagues in Hermeskeil to send us some of their spare rolls. Theirs are blue and white diagonal stripes, whereas ours are traditionally red and white vertical stripes, so we won't keep it for long, in case locals get confused by the sudden change in colour."

Local man Hartmut Landei commented, "Since 1995, Saarburg has never been without its own roll of warning tape. It is a very bad state of affairs if the police is now having to keep a blue and white one from Hermeskeil instead of the red and white one we have here. Although they haven't used it since 1995, it might cause people to complain about the change of colour. Or worse, not know what it is for."

Hermeskeil police have today sent a job student to the post office with a brown envelope containing two rolls of warning tape. In the hope that nothing happens in the next 48 hours, the tape should arrive by Saturday morning.