Lord have mercy, some people just have no shame. According to Fox 28, a church on Columbus’ far west side is scrambling to find transportation for dozens of kids enrolled in daycare and after-school programs after thieves stole its van over the weekend.
“What kind of person would target a church?” said Reverend Nancy Day-Achauer of St. Marks United Methodist Church on Sullivant Avenue.
The Ford 14-passenger van vanished from the church’s parking lot. It’s used to transport kids to and from school and to attend “the Child’s Garden” located inside the church.
“It’s desperately needed on the far west side. It’s a poor community and the way to help families is to give them affordable day care,” said Day-Achauer.
Days after the vehicle was stolen, it was recovered Tuesday by police after a stranger called the church to say the vehicle had been sitting in an apartment complex in the Hilltop.
“I was concerned, why is a church van sitting here? It’s been here for three days,” said Thomas Mackaravitz.
When Reverend Day-Achauer saw the van it looked okay on the outside, but there was a lot of damage on the inside. The passenger seats had been ripped out, the ignition stripped and valuable church documents were missing.
“Now we can’t transport kids to school. We are going to have to be to borrow a van,” said Day-Achauer.
“Our families go to 8 different schools. We need to drop students off so parents can go to work. This is devastating.”
