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A sculpture that was stolen from a cemetery in southern Illinois has been found.
According to KMOV, a life-sized copper sculpture of Jesus was taken from a grave at the Poplar Creek Cemetery in Wayne County.
The sculpture was taken on June 30 in 2021 and after six months of it being taken, it turned up on Tuesday night (January 11).
The sculpture was found in the woods under a pile of brush after the investigation with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office led authorities to a home in Rinard, nearly 10 miles from the cemetery, Wayne County Sheriff Chris Otey said
Police did confirm that during an interview about the missing item, a man confessed to taking the sculpture and was taken into custody.
Sandra Crowder, the sculpture owner, told WSIL-TV last year that her husband made the sculpture for years by hand to give to his grandmother. When his grandmother passed away, he donated it to the Poplar Creek Church.
When Crowder's husband passed away three years ago, the church returned the sculpture to her and they placed it by his gravestone.
Now that the statue has been found, the owner plans to put it back in its original spot in the cemetery. It was also reported that the owners decided not to press charges against the thief.