Facebook helps police recover stolen baby Jesus

Originally published in Christian Post

Police in Virginia  USA, have recovered an 36 kilogramme statue of baby Jesus after a woman who allegedly stole it from a nativity scene uploaded a picture of the figure on her Facebook page.

Fredericksburg Police detectives found the plastic baby Jesus figure, which had been stolen from the city’s Central Park shopping center on Tuesday night, in the house of a Spotsylvania woman, the city police said in a message on the department’s Facebook page Friday.

A 25-year-old woman from Spotsylvania County had uploaded a picture of the stolen statue on her Facebook page. A citizen printed the image and related comments before the woman removed the post and submitted the evidence to police.

The subsequent investigation led to a home in Spotsylvania County, where the figure was found, the police said. Charges were pending at press time, and police were suspecting involvement of at least one additional suspect in the theft.

According to police, the suspects may have carried the figure in the back of a car or truck.

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The statue, about 12 by 18 inches in size, was weighted down with 36 kg of concrete to deter thefts after it was stolen and later returned in 2005.

“Why would you steal the baby Jesus from the nativity scene? This isn’t the case of somebody stealing something because they need money or need to fulfill a particular need. This is a hard case to explain,” police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said, according to WTVR.

One of the comments on the police’s Facebook page called the suspect “dumb.” “If you are going to steal something, the last thing you should do is post it to Facebook where everyone can see it. This means either she wanted to get caught, or she is just stupid.”

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Another response said she must have needed Jesus in her life.