Twenty-four years later, the mystery of the golden rooster stolen in Hérault finally solved

It's just a golden rooster that sat on a cross for a long time, in a village in Hérault. But his disappearance twenty-four years ago, like his incredible reappearance, remained enigmatic until justice finally lifted the veil on Tuesday.

In a press release, the prosecutor of Béziers, Raphaël Balland, announced that the gendarmes of Florensac had identified the author of the theft of the wrought iron piece painted gold committed on April 1, 1999 in Bessan, a town of 5,500 inhabitants located between Béziers and Agde. “This is a man born in 1975, who admitted to being the author of the theft, for fun, during an alcoholic festive evening. Subsequently, he did not dare to return it, until recently after having rediscovered this object hidden in his cellar,” said the prosecutor, without revealing the identity of the thief.

But since the latter "cannot be criminally prosecuted due to the limitation period for public action", the prosecution decided to close the procedure without further action. It was in fact in a postal package signed “Monsieur Gallinacé” and addressed to a local historian, Michel Sabatéry, that the statuette resurfaced at the end of November.

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“By repeatedly publishing the photo of the rooster in newspapers and on social networks, Michel Sabatéry made it so familiar that it ended up representing a risk for those who had it at home and who preferred to return it “, said the historian in a press release. On the social network Facebook, he thanks the perpetrator for returning it to him, “he could have disposed of it in a landfill,” he says with relief. Mr. Sabatéry “was kind enough” to quickly inform the city. The mayor then contacted the prosecutor, who launched the investigation which made it possible to identify the sender of the package, sent from a post office in the department and paid by bank card, the mayor of Bessan explained to AFP, Stéphane Pépin-Bonet.

The rooster will be returned to the town of Bessan and soon placed again at the top of the cross, where this time it will be “seriously fixed so that it does not fly away again”, according to the mayor. “It may be a case of youthful stupidity and the story has a happy ending. But during the small ceremony that will be organized for its return, I will make sure to emphasize that this type of object is part of this small village heritage which does not have much value but which belongs to everyone and that we we must safeguard,” concluded the elected official seriously.