Thieves steal church bus

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Around 1:30 a.m. Thursday a pair of thieves stole a church bus from the Beth-El Farmworker Ministry in Wimauma.

"I don't know the psychology of what drives somebody to do this, but they knew what they were doing," said Executive Director Kathy Dain.

The bus carries members to and from the church. 

"We help over 80,000 people a year with our food pantry and other mission organizations, so it's frustrating," she said.

During the heist, both the bus and a church van were damaged when thieves smashed windows and tried hot-wiring the rigs.

The bus was later located in a field.  Both vehicles are out of service and in the shop.

"Anytime you're helping someone you run the risk of someone taking advantage," Dain said.

Dain believes whoever's behind this knows the campus and is probably known to church members.
She calls the crime simply, sad.

"It is frustrating, because we use these things to help our community," she said.