Police Find Virgin Mary Statue Thieves With Discarded Corn Dog

rick perry — Police in Wisconsin found a stolen statue after discovering a corn dog nearby. Corn dogs are ready to be eaten during the American Meat Institute's annual Hot Dog Lunch in the Rayburn courtyard on July 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Police and residents in Wausau, Wisconsin, were understandably baffled when a statue of the Virgin Mary was stolen from St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Sunday morning. However, on Monday authorities reported that the statue had been returned in cooperation with the thieves, according to a Wausau Police Department Facebook post.

How police tracked down the thieves and got them to return the statue emerged days later. The police report claimed the suspects were identified after leaving behind gas station corn dogs at the crime scene, according to WSAW-7, a CBS affiliate in Wausau.

Virgin Mary statue theft suspects caught by corn dog clue: https://t.co/XTpY1d7mUx
— Emma Henderson (@Emma_WSAW) May 9, 2018

Police discovered the discarded hot dog remains while investigating the area around where the Virgin Mary statue was stolen. They determined it came from the Kwik Trip convenience store nearby, so they headed over there to watch surveillance footage from the day of the theft.

The footage led police to three suspects: Katie Kelly, Miranda Lindner and Brian Yonker. In the video, they were seen purchasing the corn dogs and heading out the door in the direction of St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

After watching the footage, an officer actually spotted Kelly and Lindner near the police station and confronted them. They reportedly admitted to the theft and explained their plan, which was to transport it to nearby Pelican Lake and bury it. Officers recovered the statue in Pelican Lake and returned it to the Church on Tuesday.

When Father Aaron Huberfeld of St. Mary’s found out the case was cracked by the discovery of hot dogs, he found it amusing.

"Reminds us that divine providence also has a sense of humor and we've all certainly had a good chuckle about that," Huberfeld said, per WSAW-7.

Huberfeld also said he believed the thieves’ apologies were sincere and recommended that the trio receive community service rather than jail time.

Using food wrappers or remains to trace suspects is nothing new. In April, police in Maryland identified a murder suspect based on DNA left behind on a discarded McDonald’s bag.