A Washington state man who created a nativity scene to display near the state Capitol in Olympia this week can’t understand why someone stole the baby Jesus figure.
State officials confirmed that the baby Jesus model was stolen sometime last weekend from the traditional creche, the Olympian reported.
Ron Wesselius, a Tumwater resident who works in local real estate, coordinated the display with Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in the manger, inside a wooden box on a lawn a few hundred yards from the Washington Legislative Building last week. By Sunday, the baby Jesus figure was gone, so Wesselius purchased a baby doll at a Goodwill store to replace it.
As of Christmas Eve, the backup doll was still in place.
Wesselius says this is the third time a Jesus figure has been stolen from his annual display, since he started creating it three years ago.
“Where’s the free speech?” Wesselius told the Olympian Wednesday. “Why can’t different sides have different opinions and respect one another?”
The missing Jesus is considered a theft, and charges could be brought if a suspect is identified, Washington State Patrol spokesman Bob Calkins said.
“Obviously an item from a display – it doesn’t have serial number, it doesn’t have a tracking chip. We completely get that this is going to be a difficult case to solve,” Calkins said Wednesday.
“That doesn’t mean we don’t take it seriously. We don’t want people’s stereos stolen out of their cars when they visit the Capitol," Calkins added. We don’t want women’s purses stolen. And we don’t want a baby Jesus stolen out of a manger scene.”
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