HILO, Hawaii (AP) - A 7-foot-tall white wooden cross stolen from the lawn of a Hilo church was found less than a block away.
A man who lives near historic United Community Church found the cross along a street and put it in his own yard, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald (https://bit.ly/1vncCzw) reported.
After a newspaper story noting the theft, an anonymous caller told police where to find the cross.
“Actually the cross was planted in the ground,” said the Rev. Merle Lai, the church’s pastor. “. We’re relieved, happy and so grateful to the Tribune-Herald and the police department and the people who actually gave the information to the police department.”
The suspect in the petty misdemeanor case was described as a “young white male jogger.” He pulled the cross from the ground and ran, Officer Darryl Castillo said.
“The suspect is a guy in his early 20s, Caucasian-looking guy, short hair, he was bare-backed with shorts and fit-looking,” Castillo said. “The guy who brought it home was an older guy. He saw it on the side of the road down from where he lived.”
The cross is inside the church while its board decides what to do with it, church office manager Ada Kamaunu said.
“We took it for granted, I think, and until it was missing, it was always there,” Kamaunu said. “When it disappeared, it caused quite a disruption in the church. It was just a part of the church.”
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Information from: Hawaii Tribune-Herald, https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/
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