The police mobilized almost its whole squad in and around the city of Traun, to find and catch the young handbag snatcher. 18 police patrols from Linz county, seven from Linz city, and two police dog patrols were involved in the pursuit.

But the chase was harder than expected. The 17-year-old snatcher turned out to be a real athlete. He jumped on busses and over roads with heavy traffic, and also in a car park tower of a big shopping centre he climbed up and jumped down from floor to floor.

Finally the superiority of police forces was too much for him. One policeman could catch him in a corner of the car park tower. His loot was a banknote of 100 EUR.

austrianews.co.uk 03042007