'Landmark in this area': Holden residents saddened by theft of church bell, damage to belfry
Police are investigating after the bell was stolen from St. Mary's Church in Holden, Alta., causing significant damage to the belfry building.
The theft happened on Jan. 22.
Mounties say they have surveillance footage that shows an older model blue Dodge dually pickup with a push bar in front and a white canopy, followed by a white or silver SUV or van dragging the church bell and pulling it off.
Police say a blue pickup truck is one of two vehicles used to steal the bell from St. Mary's church in Holden, Alta. (Credit: RCMP)
The church secretary and treasurer says the bell was installed at the church nearly a century ago.
"We had a merchant in Holden, Mr. Black, and he donated the bell to this church in 1925. He also donated the chandelier in the church. The bell is marked with the name of the church and the year it was installed," Eileen Komarnisky told CTV News Edmonton.
"It hurts. It’s something that… I really don’t know what to say. It’s a landmark in this area. And I don’t know why anyone would want to destroy the building to get a bell."
Komarnisky says the church was built in 1907. The belfry was constructed as a separate building.
St. Mary's church in Holden. (Supplied photo.)
She hopes whoever has the bell will bring it back.
"I would love to have them drop it off. Drop it off and no charges or anything would be laid."
Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call Tofield RCMP at 780-662-3353 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
A local man is also offering a $5,000 reward in the case.
Holden is about 100 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
As GC Strategies partner is admonished by MPs, RCMP confirms search warrant executed
The RCMP confirmed Wednesday it had executed a search warrant at an address registered to GC Strategies. This development comes as MPs are enacting an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power, summoning one of its contractors to appear before the House of Commons to be admonished publicly for failing to answer questions related to the ArriveCan app.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.