Wisconsin police have demanded the safe return of an irreplaceable baby Jesus figure stolen from a Church Nativity set dated at over 100 years old.
Police said the culprit stole the figure and did some rearranging of the Nativity set at St. Patrick’s Church in Menasha, Wisc., between 7 p.m. Sunday and 9 a.m. Monday, according to Post-Crescent. Police issued a BOLO (Be On The Lookout) for the baby Jesus. Parishioners of the church are praying meanwhile that the culprit will return the figure before Christmas, and said that the thief can return baby Jesus to the set no questions asked, according to Fox11 News.
“You can drop it off any time, no questions asked. Just put him back where you found him. We’d just like to get it back,” congregant Craig Quick told Fox11.
Craig also said that whoever stole baby Jesus also damaged the rest of the Nativity set in the course of rearranging it. Craig believes the culprit acted on impulse, without thought or care.
Police have no leads on potential culprits thus far, but said that this is not the first time something has been stolen from the church. Police told Fox11 that vandals have stolen other figurines from the Nativity set in the past, and that while the culprits may intend it as a prank, the theft of baby Jesus is no laughing matter.
“It’s not at all funny. It’s disrespectful and this incident was very unfortunate,” Lt. Nick Thorn of the Menasha Police Dept told Fox11. Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the baby Jesus figure are encouraged to contact the Menasha police Department.
Menasha police also said that incidents like this show that it might be a good idea for homeowners and churches to install surveillance cameras to cover outdoor Christmas displays.
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