According to the local authorities, the suspect carried out his deeds over the course of eight forays which took place between November and January, and cut down between 100 and 150 trees per session. During one of his woodcutting sprees, the man managed to clear over half an acre of woodland in one go.
What makes this episode stand out is the fact that the perpetrator apparently wasn’t interested in the wood itself as he didn't even try to move the trees he had felled.
Furthermore, for some strange and as yet unknown reason, the wannabe lumberjack used nothing but a hand saw to carry out his bizarre and time-consuming scheme.
"Aside from the fact that it takes considerable effort to cut down a tree that way, it also takes a lot of time to cut down a hundred trees that way; some tree trunks were up to 30 centimeters thick," police spokesman Christian Driebandt told Sputnik.
The suspect was identified when the owner of one of the forests caught the man in the act and called the police. According to Driebandt, the man refuses to explain his actions or to give official testimony, and continues to ignore police’s attempts to summon him for questioning.
The case has currently been submitted to the prosecutor’s office, which will have to decide whether to launch an official criminal investigation or not.