Someone stole a 100 year-old church bell in the middle of the night.

Police are investigating the theft of a bell that was on display outside St. Michael’s Korean Catholic Church in San Francisco. The bell had been in the bell tower of the former sanctuary, constructed in 1901, before the structure was rebuilt in 1964.

“I don’t understand how something like this could happen,” said church priest Rev. Vincent Kang-gun Lee, who was the first to discover the bell missing Tuesday morning. “I hope it is returned to us undamaged.”

The bell is described as approximately four feet high and four feet in diameter at its mouth and is estimated to weigh more than 600 pounds.

Parishioners suspect the theft was plotted well in advance and was not a spur-of-the-moment crime of opportunity, as it would have taken several individuals in possession of equipment necessary to move heavy objects. Splinters of wood were found at the scene.

A ranking officer with the San Francisco Police Department is said to be a member of the Korean congregation, but persons with information that may lead to the bell’s recovery are asked to call SFPD Taraval Station Company I at (415)759-3100. The church office may be reached at (415) 333-1194.

Reported by SEO Banseok | 20100819

[The Korea Times San Francisco, Inc./Hankook Ilbo is the oldest and largest circulation Korean daily news publication in Northern California, with sister editions in Korea, Europe, and major American cities. All rights reserved.]