Akron church stunned after camera catches thieves stealing equipment: 'It's God's house'

AKRON, Ind. — A search is underway to find the man and woman who robbed a church in Akron.

They stole hundreds of dollars worth of audio and video equipment. Luckily, the church has security cameras.

It was all caught on camera when it happened last Tuesday.

After the two robbed the church, they drove off on an ATV. The pastor and security director are left wondering why someone would steal from such a sacred place.

In the security footage, you see a man grabbing a piece of audio equipment and preparing to steal it.

“We came in Sunday morning and I put some radios away,” said Mike Murphy, Director of Security. “We had two sets of radios and I put the other set away and realize that once that was missing.”

Murphy began noticing other items missing, and that's when he decided to review the footage.

“We had the sheriff's department in and the people from the security company review the footage and we got footage of them all over the church,” said Murphy.

A man and a woman were going through every drawer and every door, stealing around $400 worth of audio and video equipment.

Another video shows the two leaving with the equipment on an ATV.

Pastor Butch Troke says it's a little unsettling.

“The only word that comes to mind is just creepy,” said Troke.

He says if someone truly needs something, the church is willing to help; there's no need to steal.

“That’s what we do, we help people,” said Troke. “If he needed it, we’ll do what we can to help him.”

He says the doors are always unlocked for all to use, and there are no plans to change that.

“It’s God’s house, hopefully being used for God's purposes, people come in who are not affiliated with this church,” said Troke.

Both Murphy and Troke hope to find the culprits.

“I hear somebody say ‘I can’t believe this happened here’, you know, ‘Wake up,’” said Murphy. “Sadly, it’s reality today.”

This happened during the early morning hours last Tuesday.

If you have any information on who the suspects may be, call the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Office at (866) 322-5857.