Residents in Debden awoke Wednesday to discover something missing from the beloved "Our Lady of Fatima" shrine. (Submitted photo)

By Nigel Maxwell

Crime

Virgin Mary lifted from Debden Second World War shrine

Sep 16, 2020 | 5:38 PM

A new low has been reached for some small town criminals, following a theft in the Village of Debden.

The Virgin Mary statue which is part of the “Our Lady of Fatima” Second World War memorial shrine, was stolen sometime between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Mayor Rod Fisher told paNOW he has no idea why someone would take this statue.

“Why do people topple over gravestones? It makes no sense,” he said.

The shrine’s history dates back to the start of the war, when the town’s young soldiers headed off to fight. The local priest promised to build a shrine honouring the Virgin Mary, if she returned all of them home alive. None of the soldiers were even wounded so the shrine was erected. Fisher explained there has been a number of “initiation” types thefts in the community, and local business owners are getting fed up.

“You can only survive so many break-ins before you finally have to close your doors,” he said.

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A photo taken of the shrine prior to the prank. (Submitted photo)

Fisher said rural crime is high on his priority list and added the village is in the process of setting up a crime watch group. Fisher added one thing he would like to see happen is for all the business owners to get together and pitch in to pay somebody to patrol in the overnight hours.

A number of posts like this one were made to Facebook on Wednesday, showing just how important the statue is to the community. (Facebook)

The RCMP is investigating the theft of the statue. Anyone with information is asked to call the Big River detachment or Crime Stoppers.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell