Brazen thieves have stolen a 2.6-tonne church bell from an iconic church in San Francisco.
The 122-year-old relic, which sat in front of St Mary's Cathedral after being replaced by an electronic chime in the 1970s, had survived the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake and a 1962 arson attack that gutted the building, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
But it was unable to withstand the determination of metal thieves who would have used heavy lifting equipment in the brazen heist.
Made up of 80 percent copper and 20 percent tin, the bell would fetch close to $75,000 if melted down.
Despite it being a prominent feature of the church's landscape, parishioners were initially unaware it was missing.
"Nobody can swear on a Bible and say the last time they saw the bell," police Inspector Brian Danker told the Chronicle.
The Catholic Church is keen to get the bell back in place in front of the church and has offered an undisclosed reward for its safe return.
"It is a very historic and valuable item, it is a memory of the Catholic Church in San Francisco," George Wesolek, from the Archdiocese of San Francisco, was quoted as saying. "It is kind of an ignoble end for the bell if they succeed."
Front page
RSS Feed