BETHUNE, S.C. — Sometime Tuesday evening a church in the town of Bethune was broken into and thousands of dollars of valuables were stolen including their church bus.
The pastor of the Bethune Baptist church Scott Bernshausen said, “I came out and found the bus was stolen, the awning was certainly not tall enough to allow the bus to pass underneath," Bernshausen says referring to the damaged building, "We entered the building and realized that the burglars had broke in and stolen multiple TVs and electronic equipment throughout the church.”
Church member Robert Horton had just been at the church around 9 p.m. Tuesday night, "the neighbor said maybe this happened between 9 and 10. So you never know when somethings going on or when someone could be watching what you’re doing."
Horton went on to say, “We do have a security system and currently its with the burglars. We had just purchased a security system and we just formed a security team but before we could get the security system in, it actually got stolen by the burglars.”
Regarding the total damage, Bernshausen told us, “So far, working with the local authorities, we estimate that we have over $38,000 worth of losses.”
Chief Josh Ward with the Bethune Police Department told us the investigation is still ongoing but they do have some leads.
If you know anything about what happened here at Bethune Baptist Church, contact CRIMESTOPPERS at 1-888-CRIME-SC.