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Police Renew Search of Drained Sylt Pond in 2023 Homicide Inquiry

The two-day search offers investigators a fresh chance to recover physical evidence that earlier dives and searches failed to find.

Overview

  • Investigators from the Bereitschaftspolizei examined the emptied pond bottom during municipal maintenance on Thursday and continued on Friday, July 23 and 24, 2026.
  • The renewed search targets possible items linked to the unsolved 2023 death of 39-year-old handyman Grzegorz S., who was found in a locked black VW Passat near Westerland.
  • Police previously searched the same pond soon after the March 2023 discovery and looked for a car key, a mobile phone, a fire extinguisher and a possible weapon without success.
  • The Staatsanwaltschaft Flensburg has confirmed signs of a physical confrontation but has not disclosed a cause of death or announced any new evidence from the July search.
  • The municipality’s routine drainage created a rare opportunity to re-examine the pond bed, a step that could produce material evidence and change the direction of the long-running inquiry if items are found.