Chronology:"Cookie Monsters" Cookie Steal

It is a case that moves the whole world. At the beginning of 2013, a gold-plated brass biscuit weighing around 20 kilograms was stolen from the headquarters of biscuit manufacturer Bahlsen in Hanover. For 100 years, the landmark hung between two so-called pretzel men attached to the building on Podbielskistrasse. While the police were investigating, the "cookie monster" wrote a blackmail letter, made demands on Bahlsen and returned the biscuit a good two weeks later. A chronology of events.

21. January 2013: An employee of the biscuit manufacturer discovers that the company emblem is no longer in its place. The company alerted the police. It is not clear when exactly the golden biscuit was removed from a height of five meters. The theft may have gone undetected for days. Bahlsen is offering a reward of 1,000 euros for catching the thief.

28. January: The police have initial investigations:Witnesses claim to have observed that on the afternoon of January 11, two men in dark work clothes were tampering with the golden biscuit. One of the two men is said to have been standing on a ladder.

29. January: The Bahlsen company and the "Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung" received a blackmail letter. The letter includes a photo of a person in a blue Cookie Monster costume biting into a large gold Leibniz biscuit. The letter of confession itself is composed of glued-on letters, signed "Krümelmonster". The blackmailer demands from Bahlsen to provide all wards in the children's hospital on the Bult in Hanover with Leibniz biscuits and to donate the offered reward of 1,000 euros to the animal shelter Krähenwinkel in Langenhagen. Otherwise the cookie will end up in Oskar's bin.

29. January: The real Cookie Monster spoke up via the short message service Twitter:"Me no steal the golden cookie. But I willing to help find real cookie thief!" ("I didn't steal the golden cookie. But I'll help find the real cookie thief!") tweeted it via America's Sesame Street account.

30. January: Company boss Werner M. Bahlsen does not want to respond to the blackmailer's demand. "We won't let ourselves be blackmailed," he said at a press conference in Hanover. He appeals to the biscuit kidnappers to return the company's emblem. Bahlsen takes a step towards the biscuit kidnappers and announces that he will donate 52,000 packs of Leibniz biscuits to 52 social organizations. "Krümelmonster's" biscuit theft is now also making headlines in other countries - especially in the USA.

31. January: On the Internet, blackmail moves users of social networks. A separate page on the case with more than 1,600 fans is being created on Facebook. A few followers are now demanding, "Give the cookie back." However, the majority of Facebook and Twitter users are swimming with the humorous wave triggered by the cookie theft. Some are of the opinion that it is a PR campaign by Bahlsen. However, the biscuit manufacturer denies this several times.

4. February: After the "Cookie Monster" had not been heard from for days, a new letter appeared in the "Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung". In the letter, again composed of scraps of paper, the blackmailer announces that he will return the biscuit.

5. February: A gold-plated biscuit appears in front of the Leibniz University in Hanover. He hangs around the neck of the Sachsenross statue. The cookie is real. It is the original that has been missing for days, according to the police after an inspection.

6. February: The cookie is back. But who the blackmailer was is still unclear. The police are still looking for the "Cookie Monster". "It shouldn't be forgotten that this is a serious crime, theft and attempted extortion," says Frank Federau, spokesman for the State Criminal Police Office.

7. February: New post from the "Krümelmonster":The "HAZ" receives another letter - in it the author asks the Bahlsen company not to forget the donation. He also enclosed a "proof photo" that shows a person in a blue suit under the landmark at the Bahlsen headquarters on Podbielskistraße.

7. March: The investigations into the Bahlsen biscuit have been completed. The investigators return the golden biscuit to company boss Werner M. Bahlsen.

8. March: As promised, Bahlsen starts its fundraising campaign. Non-profit organizations can apply for one week. Then 52 are to be drawn at random, each receiving 1,000 packets of biscuits.

13. March: The sensational story did anything but harm Bahlsen's sales figures. The coverage of the bizarre kidnapping and return of the landmark is said to have an equivalent value of around 1.7 million euros.

14. March: The public prosecutor's office in Hanover dropped two charges against the alleged kidnappers. It will no longer be investigated for extortion and theft because the cookie was returned without prior consideration.

14. March: The recipients for the 52,000 packs of biscuits have been determined. 52 non-profit institutions were drawn from 1,400 applicants. The winners are spread all over Germany, including various support associations for schools and day-care centers as well as associations for youth work and hospitals.

15. March: The television station RTL claims to have interviewed the real thieves of the Leibniz biscuit. Shown are three people wrapped in white painter's suits, their faces covered with balaclavas and sunglasses.

27. March: So far 27 organizations have been provided with biscuits. Among other things, the Diakonie Himmelsthür near Hildesheim received 1,000 packages with chocolate butter biscuits. Bahlsen wants to have distributed all biscuit donations by Easter.

April 19: The famous gold cookie is coming to the museum. It will be on display for four weeks from April 26th as part of an exhibition of works by Bernhard Hoetger at the Landesmuseum Hannover. Company founder Hermann Bahlsen was the artist's patron.

07. May: The public prosecutor's office in Hanover is dropping the case for the biscuit theft because a perpetrator could not be identified.

11. July: The biscuit is reassembled at the company headquarters - as a precaution with video surveillance.