WEST BEND, Wis. (AP) — A woman carrying a baby Jesus figurine that had gone missing from a Nativity scene at a Wisconsin park has been arrested for theft.
Police in West Bend say an officer spotted a 21-year-old woman walking early Sunday with the figurine. When the officer attempted to stop and speak with her, she ran. The officer caught her and she was arrested on charges of theft and obstruction.
The figurine she was carrying was from Old Settlers Park in West Bend, a town of about 30,000 people 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Milwaukee. Police say it was a replacement for one damaged on Dec. 17.
Investigators have not been able to connect the woman to the damage of the other figurine. The woman’s identity has not been released.
Police say this is not the first time the nativity scene has been vandalized.
According to the Washington County Insider, the baby Jesus was stolen from the Nativity scene sometime in the 1970s or late 1980s, and a donkey was stolen in 2013.
