The Eagle Robbery 1932

Here's a story from 1932! This is a true story, but a lot of people disagree.

Anyway, here it is:

The 5th of June 1932 was supposed to be a nice day for Svanhild (born Hansen) Hartviksen's family – it was the christening of Svanhilds youngest brother so the family went by boat from Horta to Leka to go to church. After church they went to some family members on the island for dinner and after dinner the kids were sent outside to play as the grown ups wanted to rest. Since the weather still was a bit cold Svanhild got a scarf over her head that were crossed on her chest and knitted on her back before they left Horta. 3 year old Svanhild and her older brothers were supposed to play outside of the house, but somehow her brothers left her to go play with a friend and Svanhild either fell asleep or were playing with some shattered glass. When her parents came out she was all gone – they couldn't find her anywhere. They were looking everywhere and soon people from all over the island came to help – more then 200 people were searching. This area was a couple of 100meters from the sea, close to a river and 1700m from a 180m high mountain – so where was the little girl? Some old people though it had been the devil himself that had been up and captured the little girl, but many people decided to walk towards the mountain and after a while they a napkin that belonged to Svanhild and right by the foot of the mountain -in straight airline from the farm and an eagle nest up in the mountain- they found a child's shoe. Everyone saw an eagle flying a bit strange but they thought it was because of the amount of people going under the mountain, but 3 young men saw that the eagle was flying with her legs down and in a circle so they decided to climb up the mountain – and then they started to fear the worst: Was little Svanhild captured by the eagle??

These 3 young men climbed up and after a while they reached the eagle nest and there were no Svanhild there and they decided that they would climb up to a ledge just to see if Svanhild could be there. And when the one of them that climbed up reached the ledge he said "If she's alive, I don't know" but then he tried to wake up the girl and she woke up. The first person they met on their way down was Svanhild's father and they said that the joy in his eyes can't be explained, but after looking for their little girl for 7 hours the joy can't even be imagined.

They called the doctor and he came to the house where they stayed. Svanhild was dressed with 4 layers of clothes and 3 of the layers were ruined, but the inner layer and Svanhilds skin was without scratches. Svanhilds weight was 19 pounds, not kilos as many say.

When they came home to Horta that evening, Svanhilds grandma wonder what took them so long and she got told about the eagle. And when Svanhild was put to bed that night she was terrified because "the big seagull would come capture her again" so her mom hung a black thick blanket in front of the window.

All through Svanhilds life she was terrified of flying and in november 2010 Svanhild past away, 81 years old - "the eagle girl". And the dress she wore that day back in 1932 was given as a gift to Leka Kommune(Leka Municipality) from Svanhilds family after she past away.

Today the mountain is marked with a white plate where the nest is and a red plate where Svanhild was found

Many people also say that this can't happen, the girl must have climbed the mountain herself. Each year people comes to Leka to prove that she must have climbed or prove that she must have been taken by the eagle. I've tried to walk up that mountain with 3 friends when I was 16; my jeans split, my feet got soaked in the marsh, two of my friends climbed up to the nest and there were loose rocks rolling down the mountain for each meter they climbed and they almost got taken by the rocks – so for me, not only because I'm from Leka and my grandparents on dad's side was two of the people searching for Svanhild, little Svanhild must have been captured by the eagle.

If you don't believe that a little girl can be taken by an eagle, come to Leka and try climb that mountain – I dare you to it.