LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, FLA. (WSVN) - Church volunteers in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea were left puzzled after a barefoot bandit busted into their house of worship to snatch odds and ends and clog the toilet.
Surveillance video from the Community Church shows a woman wearing a tank top and bathing suit bust her way inside, pulling a cart behind her, Sunday afternoon.
“It’s just a case of opportunity, I assume,” said Barbara Lane, a volunteer for the church. “It looked like it was a chair and beach umbrella.”
Instead of searching for salvation, the woman spent several minutes inside the church’s bathroom, appearing to drop something inside her cart.
Moments later, she is seen apparently checking out the church’s food pantry donation box before turning her attention to the audiovisual booth and spotting the church’s iPad.
“[She] put it in her car and just left,” said Lane.
Church volunteers later discovered one of the toilets had been stuffed with paper towels.
“You never know what’s going through somebody’s mind,” said Lane “Somebody may have had a bad experience with a church and just feels anger toward them. I don’t know; this place is all love.”
The bizarre incident has left members of the church’s congregation saddened and confused.
“We all do things we aren’t proud of,” said Lane.
They also hold out hope for the thief to see the error in her ways and do the correct thing in returning the iPad and confessing to her actions.
“We just send her love and forgiveness,” said Lane. “That’s the beauty of it. God forgives us.”
Members also said they have reported the incident to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
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