Stolen 300-Year-Old Bible Reunited With Rightful Owner After 2 Years
A 300-year old Bible that was stolen from an Ohio man's house has been returned after two years of searching.
Tim Shier was desperately searching for his Lutheran Bible, a precious family heirloom, which was written in German Gothic script. The Bible was published in Germany in the 18th century and contained the handwritten dates of births, deaths and marriages for seven generations of his family, according to reports from the Columbus Dispatch.
The Bible was stolen when burglars broke into the Shier's Marysville house and stole a safe that contained the priceless artifact in December 2011.
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"Our family can't put a price on that Bible," Shier told The Columbus Dispatch. "History can never be replaced."
Reports revealed that the search for the stolen Bible started when police arrested four men suspected to have participated in the burglary. One of the men was offered leniency if he would cooperate with authorities to help find the Bible, but he was unable to tell police where the Bible was taken.
Shier's fortune changed in December of 2012 when a relative noticed that one user on the genealogy website Ancestory.com had described an old German bible that sounded similar to the one that had been stolen. When Shier became aware of the new development, he contacted the sheriff's office in Union City.
Sheriff's detectives did preliminary research as to the whereabouts of the Bible and were able to track the good book to a couple in Georgia. After contacting the couple they agreed to send the Bible back, but only if they were given the $405 that they had paid for it.
The sheriff's office is not allowed to purchase stolen goods, but in a move of good faith, the Union County police union voted to pay for the cost of the Bible.
"This was no stolen television. It's a family heirloom, and we believed it was important to get it back," Mike Justice, president of the Union County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 171, told the Associated Press.
