Baby Jesus figure returned to St. Cloud Nativity scene
An antique baby Jesus figure was returned Thursday to a Nativity scene in St. Cloud a year after it was stolen.
The executive director of the Stearns History Museum, Carie Essig, said a staffer at U.S. Bank noticed someone out by the manager around noon. When the staffer got to the Nativity scene, that person was gone, and the baby Jesus figure was put back where he belongs, Essig said.
The museum owns and sets up the scene outside the U.S. Bank building. The 1944 statue was stolen in December 2018. Police investigated, but the trail went cold, the St. Cloud Times reported.
This year, a doll swaddled in cloth took the role of baby Jesus.. Essig said the museum plans to let the original Jesus figure finish out the season.
"It's in pretty good condition," Essig said. There is some damage on the figure's right arm and a few toes are missing. “But overall, considering he's been gone for over a year, he's in pretty good shape.”
The Nativity scene will be up through the first week in January, she said.
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