OCEAN CITY – A statue of Mary has been returned to a local church after a property manager reportedly found the stolen figure on a lot between Robin Drive and Sunset Drive.
This week, the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) announced a statue of Mary had been returned to St. Mary Star of the Sea with the help of a concerned citizen. The statue, which was located on a lot between Robin Drive and Sunset Drive, was reported stolen last week, leading the police department to post a social media message seeking the community’s assistance.
“With the help of a concerned citizen the statue of Mary has been returned to the Church,” a social media post from the OCPD reads. “On June 20, 2023, officers were approached by a property manager in the 200 block of Sunset Drive. The property manager located the statue in a lot between Robin Drive and Sunset Drive. The property manager knew that the statue did not belong in that area and he had seen OCPD’s Facebook post.”
On June 13, the OCPD posted a Facebook message seeking the public’s assistance with a theft that occurred during the night of June 12 at a church in the area of 17th Street and Philadelphia Avenue. The missing object was described as a heavy, 3-foot statue of Mary, which typically requires more than one person to move.
The search for the missing statue soon gained traction, and the department’s Facebook post was shared by more than 800 people in the days that followed. In an update this week, the OCPD said it was still seeking the community’s assistance to determine how the statue ended up in the Sunset Drive area.
“We are still looking for anyone with information regarding how the statue found its way to the Sunset Drive area,” a social media post reads. “If anyone knows about this theft or saw any suspicious activity in the area from Kingfish Ave. to Sunset Drive, please contact Ofc. R Walker at [email protected], or contact the Ocean City Police Department at 410-723-6610.”
Anonymous tips can also be made by calling 410-520-5136 or submitting them via https://oceancitymd.gov/oc/departments/police/crime-tips. Please reference CC# 2023-00-2068.
“Thank you to everyone who prayed for the return of our stolen Blessed Mother statue and those who volunteered to pay for a new statue,” a Facebook post from St. Mary Star of the Sea reads. “Thanks to the OCPD, she has been returned. We will need to touch up a finger that was damaged and the base of the statue, so it will not be back immediately. Once the statue is all cleaned up, we’ll have a rededication of her.”
