The Ohio County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a church burglary that resulted in excessive damage to the building.
Wednesday afternoon at 3:00, Sheriff Tracy Beatty said his office was notified that Pleasant Grove Church, at 296 Askins Road (about five miles southeast of Fordsville, just off Hwy 54), had been burglarized.
Beatty said entry into the church was made through a window that was pried open “using a shepherd’s hook from one of the headstones in the cemetery.”
After entering the church, the suspect[s] “ransacked the building and destroyed several items; food and drinks were opened from the kitchen and poured throughout the church,” Beatty said, “and the thermostats from the HVAC units were damaged by pouring juice into them. Vases and picture frames were broken and holes were knocked in the walls.”
Additionally, the suspect[s] spray painted some of the walls inside the church, sprayed a fire extinguisher around the church and smashed an outside wall light with a concrete cinder block.
A shed behind the church had a master-style lock pried off the door causing damage to the shed.
“Other than food and drinks, the only other item believed to have been taken was bible that belonged to a youth member of the church,” Beatty said. The name “Grayson” is inscribed on the bible.
It is believed that the suspect[s] entered the church Tuesday night or very early Wednesday morning.
Beatty said a resident who lives next door to the church told police that at around 6:30 Wednesday morning he observed a “smaller statured person walking north on Askins Road.” The witness said the person was wearing military-style desert camo clothing with a black backpack.”
Another possible witness told authorities that on Wednesday afternoon he saw two people walking in the area on Highway 110, just across the Breckenridge County line, and very near the church.
“They advised that one of the people was wearing a black baseball-style hat, a maroon cutoff shirt (no sleeves) and black shorts,” Beatty said. “The other person was wearing a black shirt and black shorts, and both of them were picked up by a navy blue 4-door truck.”
Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to contact the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office at 270-298-4444.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com or 270-259-6000
