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Baby Jesus Snatched From Manger, Woman Distraught

SHELBY TWP. (WWJ) - A Shelby Township woman is hoping whoever stole her statue of baby Jesus from her front yard Nativity returns it soon.

The 80-year-old Sally Conklin says it just won't be the same this Christmas if the baby Jesus statue that she's had for four decades and considers priceless, isn't returned.

"I took the puppy out to walk at about 10:30 and Jesus was there and I took the puppy out at 3:30 and he was gone!" Conklin told WWJ Newsradio 950.

Conklin found the statue of baby Jesus in an old barn when she lived in the country.

"We lived on a farm near Pinckney, Michigan, and I went to a barn sale and this was in the back of a barn and it had come from a church," she said.

So, are there any suspects?

"I've had it out, off and on, for the last 40 years and nobody ever touched it," Conklin said. "So, I'm just disappointed in the fact ... we feel that it's kind of the young people that live in the subdivision nearby."

"What they did is they ... I don't know how to say it nicely ... they made the reindeer look like they were humping each other. And, so, you know, I don't think adults would do anything like that," she said. "We haven't had these sort of problems until this year ... It's more of a disappointment then (anything) ... you know, what's wrong with these children?"

Conklin is holding out hope that whoever took the statue will put it back where it belongs. If the statue isn't returned Conklin says she'll put a doll in its place.

Anyone who may have witnessed the theft and destruction of the Christmas decorations is asked to contact the Shelby Township Police at (586) 731-2121 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.   

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