Cops race to find stolen $50K bronze Jesus statue before it’s lost forever

Police in Southern California are searching for two men who severed and stole a $50,000 bronze Jesus statue from a church campus, leaving only the feet behind on its stone base.

Concerns are growing that the thieves may attempt to melt down the religious artwork to sell the raw metal.

Surveillance video captured two suspects wearing dark clothing arriving at Christ Our Savior Catholic Church in Santa Ana at roughly 2 a.m. on August 30. The men brought a bag onto the property, extracted an electric cutting tool and sliced through the sculpture at its ankles, according to the Santa Ana Police Department.

“One of the suspects retrieves a cutting tool from the bag, and both suspects begin to cut the Jesus statue from its feet, dragging it through the property,” a Santa Ana police spokesperson told local outlet KTLA.

After freeing the sculpture — which depicted Jesus with his hands clasped in prayer near John the Baptist — the suspects hauled it across the church grounds toward nearby Segerstrom High School. Authorities believe a getaway vehicle was waiting near the school, where the men loaded the piece inside and fled.

Images published by the Santa Ana Police Department show the remnants of the display: two hollow bronze, barefoot feet still attached to the rock. The department noted that the property had been targeted in past incidents.

Images published by the Santa Ana Police Department show the remnants of the display: two hollow bronze, barefoot feet still attached to the rock. The August theft follows a prior incident on April 22, when suspects damaged wooden fence panels to break onto the church grounds and cut portions of the same bronze statue, causing thousands of dollars in property damage, as reported by News Santa Ana.

“Unfortunately, this church was targeted once again, but this time, two suspects successfully stole a $50,000 bronze statue of Jesus,” the department wrote in a Facebook post.

Police released surveillance footage in hopes that the public could help identify the suspects. Though one suspect kept his face covered, another was filmed wearing a distinct T-shirt that investigators hope someone will recognize.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective R. Wilson at 714-245-8551 or RashadWilson@santa-ana.org.