OCEAN CITY, Md. - Ocean City police are looking for thieves who stole a statue from a church in town.
On Tuesday morning, parishioners at the Holy Savior Church on Philadelphia Avenue near 18th Street found a three-foot tall statue of the Virgin Mary missing from their Rosary Garden.
"It's a violation. You feel violated. It was stolen from a place of peace, and it's just horrible," said Donna Santoni, parish secretary.
In recent weeks, two businesses have been the victim of theft - one of a dinosaur head from a mini golf course, and another a statue of Peppa Pig from a candy store.
Those thefts may seem to some to just be drunken hijinks, but Monday night's theft hit a house of worship, which was a shock to parishioner Linda Marchant.
"This parish does so much for so many people that, I don't understand it. Why anyone would take it?" Marchant said.
The identities of the thieves who took the statue are unknown, and it is unknown if the theft is related to the other crimes.
According to parishioners at the Holy Savior Church, the Virgin Mary is one of the most sacred figures in Christianity.
For the executive chef at the Cowboy Coast Saloon, a neighbor of the Holy Savior Church, these bandits crossed a line.
"Yeah, churches are definitely kind of off-grounds for those kind of things," said Bourbon Bruce. "You understand that they're going to come and have fun, but hopefully whoever did it will bring it back."
Members of the church, while upset, don't seek any retribution, but offer forgiveness.
"I don't want punishment. We just want our Mary - our statue - returned, and our garden one hundred percent again," Santoni said.