St. John The Divine Attempted Statue Swiper Sought, NYPD Says

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY - A man who tried to take a religious statue from an iconic Upper West Side church earlier this month is being sought by authorities.

At about 8:31 p.m. on Dec. 3, a man dressed in all black attempted to take the statue from The Cathedral Church of St. John The Divine at 1047 Amsterdam Ave., police said.

When the man noticed security inside the building, he dropped the statue and fled the location on foot, police said.

The suspect is described as a man between 45 and 50 years old, standing about five feet ten inches and weighing about 220 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, black pants, and black sneakers.

The attempted theft took place after a craft show brought scores of people to the church, PIX11 reported, adding that the sculpture was that of Christa, which depicts a woman in a crucified pose.

Anyone with information in regard to the incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).