A Fort Worth church is reeling after thieves stole an entire brand-new building from their property \u2013 a structure worth more than $200,000 before it was even assembled. Now, the congregation is asking for the community’s help. <\/p>\n
When Pastor Brian Fisher arrived at Longvue Baptist Church’s newest property in west Fort Worth the morning of Saturday, Aug. 9, he immediately knew something was wrong.<\/p>\n
“It was a gut punch. I can’t think of anything else. It just takes the wind out of you,” said Fisher. <\/p>\n
Several cut locks and chains remained, but every piece of the church’s new metal auditorium and family life center, once laid out across the grass, was gone.<\/p>\n
“I just put my hands up. Oh, no. What do we do? I mean, what happened?” Fisher said.<\/p>\n
For the past year, the materials had sat locked behind a chain on Old Weatherford Road near Rolling Hills, waiting for permits and utility work to be approved by the city of Fort Worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The plan was to begin construction soon and open their doors to serve more members of the community after two years of fundraising to purchase the supplies.<\/p>\n
“We’ve had families that have sacrificed so they could give toward it. It’s heartbreaking,” said Fisher. <\/p>\n
He never thought anyone would be able to steal it.<\/p>\n
“The material was brought in on three 18-wheelers… I mean, we’re talking 160,000 pounds in all,” he said. <\/p>\n
The church has been targeted in the past <\/p>\n
This isn’t the first time the church has been targeted. Last December, Fisher said a $12,000 trailer was stolen from the same site and never recovered.<\/p>\n
Today, several trailers still sit on the property, and insulation materials have been rummaged through.<\/p>\n
“You can see, there’s one last roll that was left here,” said Fisher. <\/p>\n
He filed a police report with Fort Worth police and said there has been no update yet on the investigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He believes the theft happened within the last several weeks.<\/p>\n
Church offering reward\u00a0<\/p>\n
With no working security cameras on site, Fisher is now offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the stolen materials, hoping someone saw or unknowingly bought the stolen property.<\/p>\n
“If someone has seen something, something that may stand out, I would love to be able to get it back,” he said.<\/p>\n
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