Pocono News Section

Reward Offered to Catch Church Statue Vandal

Reward Offered to Catch Church Statue Vandal - Tuesday, September 18, 2007 at 5:15PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Tuesday, Sep 18, 2007 @05:15pm EST

PLAINS TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY - A $500 reward is now being offered to find the person who vandalized a sacred statue outside a church in Plains Township.

WYOU News was first to tell you about the situation Monday night at 11:00 PM. Investigators say someone heavily damaged the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary outside Saint Joseph's Church.

Shock and outrage are just some of the emotions people feel when they look at the vandalized statue. "Its a senseless act here. There's no real reason to have it done. No one can use it for getting drugs or getting money," church volunteer Stan Miskiewicz said.

Church officials think around 6:00 AM Sunday someone cut off the Virgin Mary's arms and sheered off her nose. "I was shocked and appauled that someone would have the audacity to do such an act," parishoner Carol Zubris said.

Church volunteers say the vandal, or vandals, may also have had more sinister intentions. "I think they attempted to probably knock off the head, because we see there's other marks on the statue that damaged the veil," Miskiewicz said.

A lot of people are now questioning whether the statue vandalism is related to vandalism at the nearby St. Joseph's Cemetery. Religious icons were knocked over at the cemetery and in some cases, candles were broken in half and flags were taken off graves.

"They did damage. I could see if they stole something, but what is the purpose of throwing flags and smashing candle holders," church groundskeeper Jack Bezdziecki said.

Plains Township Police say the statue vandals may have fled the scene Sunday morning in a dark-colored SUV. Anyone with information is urged to give them a call.