TORONTO – Police in Texas are appealing to the public for help after a woman was caught on tape stealing thousands of dollars from church collection boxes.
Security cameras at the North Oaks Baptist Church in Spring, Texas captured a woman breaking into not one, but two collection boxes this past Sunday.
What makes the crime even more daring is the fact that a service was being conducted at the time of the robbery.
“It’s unbelievable that somebody is that brazen,” Jimmy Howell, an elder and church administrator, told KHOU News in Houston, Texas.
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The video shows the unidentified woman breaking into the collection boxes located in the church lobby.
Church officials say the woman dragged both boxes into the darkly-lit sanctuary before opening them and removing the money.
“People were all over both buildings, however, because service was going on and classes were in progress, there were not a lot of people in the hallways,” said Joy Radabaugh, office administrator for the church.
Adding to the brazenness of the crime, congregation leaders say the woman had visited the church before and sought help.
They also say she returned several hours later, ostensibly to use the washroom.
Now church officials are circulating photos of the unknown woman amongst their congregation and posting them on social media in the hopes that someone will recognize her.
“I pray for her,” Howell added. “I pray for all the people that feel so down and out that they have to go to such means to survive.”
The Harris County Sheriff’s Department has launched their own investigation.
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