Stolen Church Bell Recovered

Found!

​Earlier this week, we told you about the "metal monsters" who ripped off a historic church bell from St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco. Well, now police are happy to report that they have located the 5,300-lb. copper bell in West Oakland.

According to Officer Albie Esparza, investigators received a tip at about 2 p.m. today regarding the whereabouts of the stolen bell. The tipster led police to Ninth and Pine streets in West Oakland, where the bell was spotted sitting across the street from a scrap yard.
Esparza said the bell was covered by a tarp sitting on top of two beams which were in the open area.

Police have made no arrests, but they previously said a substantial reward would be given for information leading to the recovery of the bell.

On Monday, a tourist reported the historic bell missing from the church, located on the 1100 block of Gough Street. The bell, which survived the 1906 earthquake, was once at the original St. Mary's church until it burned down in 1962. After that, it was on display at its current location.

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