This single small crumb is the only known remnant of Hansel and Gretel's fearful journey through the dark woods of der Kandis Hexe or the Candy Witch. Many scholars believed Hansel's breadcrumbs to be lost, either to foul or time. But in 1990, after many years of search and excavation, historian Howe Sickes-Leek discovered the "Laa breadcrumb” named after the forest in northern Austria in which it was found (see excavation). Besides Hansel's shirt, the crumb is the only other H&G artifact ever recovered. The Laa Breadcrumb stands as a silent testament to the fact that all is not lost.