Thieves take bronze bells from church in Oregon

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The bells of St. Anne Orthodox Church in Lewisburg, Ore., are silent this weekend for the Greek Food Fest and Sunday’s service.

Three of the five bronze bells were stolen late Thursday or early Friday. Another had been taken on Monday.

The Rev. Stephen Soot said he and parishioners would go ahead with the festival, which ends Sunday at the church housed in the historic Lewisburg Grange Hall.

“Everyone is working hard,” Soot said, “but people are a little down.”

The five church bells were all donated in memory of family and church members. Soot’s wife cried when she heard about the theft. “The largest bell was given in memory of her dad,” Soot said.

Cpl. Rich Riffle of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office said there were no witnesses. Neighbors reported hearing something but said they saw nothing.

Riffle said more than one person probably was involved.

Thieves had to remove the heavy bells from the bolted chains and load them into a vehicle. “It probably took some time,” Riffle said.

Soot and Riffle said they hoped the bells would turn up at one of the scrap metal dealers in the area. The bells weigh between 22 and 120 pounds.

Chris Alexander, general manager of Schnitzer Steel in Eugene, said scrap bronze sells for a little over $2 a pound.

“Bells are rare,” Alexander said. “We’re going to ask, ‘Where did this come from?’ ” Schnitzer works with law enforcement, so often the business is alert to unusual stolen items before they come in the door.

Thieves must either sell stolen items quickly or move out of the area. Even if they leave the area there is a network among dealers alerted to watch for stolen items.

“It’s going to be tough to get rid of,” Alexander said of the set of church bells. That’s what Soot hopes. Even more, he hopes the thieves will return them soon.