BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) _ Brownsville police say a 140-year-old statue of Our Lady of Lourdes that was reported stolen has been recovered.
Sgt. Juan Lopez says the 2-foot-tall statue of the Virgin Mary was returned Friday to the Sisters of the Incarnate Word.
Lopez says a tip to Crime Stoppers helped lead to the statue, which early this week was discovered missing from a grotto that’s listed as a Texas historic landmark. Sister Evelyn Morales says a gardener noticed the $25,000 statue was gone.
KRGV-TV reports the person who had the statue bought it from an unknown individual, then saw media stories about the theft and did not know the religious artificate was stolen.
Police say the statue was recovered Thursday night.
Lopez says no charges have been filed as the investigation continues.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.