A 34-year-old Festus woman recently was arrested after she was found driving a van that allegedly had been stolen from Emmanuel Baptist Church, 13270 Hwy. CC, in the De Soto area. The van was stolen about 4:45 a.m. May 26, and the woman was arrested on May 29, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reports.
A church employee said she showed up to work at about 9 a.m. May 26 and noticed the blue 1992 Ford van missing. She called several people affiliated with the church to see if any of them had it, and when they all said no, she reviewed surveillance footage, which showed a man taking it, the report said.
The van didn’t have a battery in it, and the church found one missing from a truck parked nearby. It appeared the culprit broke a window to get inside the van because a deputy found broken glass on the ground where it had been parked, according to the report.
The stolen van was valued at $2,000. It was recovered on May 29, the day the deputy allegedly spotted the Festus woman driving it and arrested her, the report said.