Oops: $53,000 In Gold, Jewelry Thrown Away
Officials Say Finding Bags Nearly Impossible
POSTED: Tuesday, August 30, 2011
UPDATED: 9:18 am EDT August 30, 2011
Nicky Loh/Reuters
CALOUNDRA, Australia -- An Australian man may be rethinking his idea to hide his wife's expensive jewelry, gold bars and other treasures in garbage bags.
The Caloundra man who went only by Geoffrey said he inadvertently threw the gold-filled bags out after cleaning his garage, according to Australian newspaper the Courier Mail.
He said he didn't notice until it was too late.
"My wife rang me up when I was at work and said 'where are the bags?'" said Geoffrey. "You know that sick feeling you get? Wow."
A week before the couple's anniversary, officials said they were essentially out of luck. The $53,000 in gold had already been transported to a landfill, compacted and buried.
"While council sympathizes with the owners -- unfortunately any attempts to search for the lost items would be extremely difficult, and would pose serious safety risks," said Sunshine Coast Regional Council spokesman Gary Reeve. "If we'd been contacted the day it happened, we'd stand a chance."
Now, the family treasure is buried in a landfill and Geoffrey is scouring through tons of trash on his own.
"But whilst my heart goes out to Geoff, it's worse than a needle in a haystack situation," said Reeve.
His friends haven't quite been supportive either.
"They keep ringing me up and saying, 'Hey mate the price of gold has just gone up,'" said Geoffrey. "I'm like, 'Shut up will ya?'"
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Officials Say Finding Bags Nearly Impossible
POSTED: Tuesday, August 30, 2011
UPDATED: 9:18 am EDT August 30, 2011
Nicky Loh/Reuters
CALOUNDRA, Australia -- An Australian man may be rethinking his idea to hide his wife's expensive jewelry, gold bars and other treasures in garbage bags.
The Caloundra man who went only by Geoffrey said he inadvertently threw the gold-filled bags out after cleaning his garage, according to Australian newspaper the Courier Mail.
He said he didn't notice until it was too late.
"My wife rang me up when I was at work and said 'where are the bags?'" said Geoffrey. "You know that sick feeling you get? Wow."
A week before the couple's anniversary, officials said they were essentially out of luck. The $53,000 in gold had already been transported to a landfill, compacted and buried.
"While council sympathizes with the owners -- unfortunately any attempts to search for the lost items would be extremely difficult, and would pose serious safety risks," said Sunshine Coast Regional Council spokesman Gary Reeve. "If we'd been contacted the day it happened, we'd stand a chance."
Now, the family treasure is buried in a landfill and Geoffrey is scouring through tons of trash on his own.
"But whilst my heart goes out to Geoff, it's worse than a needle in a haystack situation," said Reeve.
His friends haven't quite been supportive either.
"They keep ringing me up and saying, 'Hey mate the price of gold has just gone up,'" said Geoffrey. "I'm like, 'Shut up will ya?'"
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
