During the Christmas celebrations, a strange incident occurred in Fort Collins, Colorado. A stolen Baby Jesus statue from the Old Town Square nativity scene mysteriously reappeared at a local fire station. The returned image included an apology note from the anonymous thief. According to the New York Post, the statue had been missing since December 17, making the nativity scene incomplete. However, the statue was returned just in time for Christmas, bringing a sense of relief and wonder to the community.
Initially, Fort Collins police released a photo of a suspect, described as a blonde-haired individual, who was allegedly caught stealing the ceramic Baby Jesus statue from the traditional Christmas decorations in Old Town Square.
“This Grinch tried to ruin Christmas by stealing the Baby Jesus from the nativity scene in Old Town Square,” Fort Collins police wrote on its Facebook page, next to an image of the alleged suspect.
However, in a surprising turn of events, the statue was returned to the Poudre Fire Authority just days later. The returned image was accompanied by a note, reportedly scribbled by the thief. The Fort Collins Police Department shared a heartwarming photo on Instagram of two firefighters holding the recovered Baby Jesus statue. An apology note was taped to the face of the statue.
The handwritten note read: “I'm truly sorry. I made a stupid mistake at this time. It won't happen again.”
Upon returning, it turned out that some fingers had broken off from the ceramic statue of the baby Jesus. However, it remains unclear whether the damage occurred before or after the theft.
Despite the apology note that accompanied the returned image, police were unable to gather any further information about the thief's identity.