It wasn’t exactly a kidnapping, but it was a crime, and it was the theft of a baby—of sorts. The perpetrator will have to answer to Earthly authorities, at the very least.
Whatever the legal penalties, the embarrassment of explaining the act will probably be more painful.
For the Wisconsin woman who got caught stealing the figurine of baby Jesus from a park’s nativity scene in West Bend, Wisconsin, there can’t be a lot of sound explanations.
In a town that small, not many people are out and about at 2 a.m. on Christmas Eve. Women walking at 2 a.m. holding statues from holiday displays are rarer still.
When the officer asked her to stop, the woman dropped the figurine and fled. The officer chased her down and arrested her.
The figure she had stolen came from the town’s traditional nativity display, which had been set up each year in Old Settlers Park ever since it was donated to the city in the 1960s.
Nothing like that had ever happened before.
A local had donated a replacement Jesus figurine so the Christmas display could be complete.
Police are not sure if the woman in custody was in some way related to the vandals who damaged the original statue.
The West Bend Police Department posted a description of the crime on their Facebook site.
Barbara Patzen Mull posted, “Oh for heavens sake. And that other lady just donated this doll to replace the damaged one. What is the matter with people. I don’t get it.”
Betty Bartelt added, “Good job WBPD... and Shame on this lady! We got one donated just days ago! Way to show the Christmas Spirit! Makes me so mad”
Emie Phillips suggested a possible solution to the problem: “Keep her in jail until at least Tuesday, bet she doesn’t do it again next year.”
2017 Year in Review
w
