Church member says prayer revealed suspects

Coeur d’Alene police may have gotten a divine lead if the culprits in a weekend theft of thousands of dollars of music equipment turn out to be named Mark, Michael, Nathan and Elliot.

The names came to a member of Gateway Christian Fellowship “through prayer,” according to a Coeur d’Alene Police report.

The church was having a conference at the Best Western Coeur d’Alene Inn when the equipment went missing overnight Tuesday. Natalie West, a civilian report taker for the Police Department, didn’t have any luck dusting for prints. But as West was investigating, a member of the church approached her and handed over a piece of paper with the four names and the words “Budget Rental Truck.”

“These are the people who did it,” the woman told West, according to the police report. When West questioned the woman, she said another member of the church had the names “come to him through prayer.”

Coeur d’Alene police Sgt. Christie Wood said no arrests have been made in the case. Wood said some law enforcement agencies across the country have enlisted the help of psychics, but Wood said she hasn’t heard of suspects being named through prayer.

“What do you do with it?” Wood said Thursday. “We have to have something kind of tangible.”

Still, Wood said the police wouldn’t discount a tip simply because it may have come secondhand, from God.

“I’ll keep track of this one,” Wood said. And if the tip pans out? Wood joked that the Police Department might have a few other cases for the church member to review.