Crucifix snatched off altar at Florida church found in Tennessee motel room, cops say

A $2,500 crucifix snatched off the altar of a Florida Catholic church has been found in one of the last places you’d imagine: a motel room in Middle Tennessee.

The recovery was made Wednesday, Jan. 8, when the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call at the Country Inn Motel, about a 55-mile drive northeast from Nashville.

“As it turns out, (the man) accidentally called 911,” the sheriff’s office said in a Jan. 9 news release.

“However, something about the situation didn’t feel right, and upon further investigation, (a deputy) discovered a large wooden cross hidden under a blanket. (The man) was extremely protective of it.”

The deputy then discovered police in the Florida Panhandle were looking for the man ... and the cross.

Pensacola police say the cross was taken Dec. 5 from St. Paul Catholic Church.

“He parked a van in the parking lot, walked into the sanctuary with a red cup in hand and a staff member told him he couldn’t drink inside the building,” Pensacola police told McClatchy News in a phone interview.

“He said he was ‘looking for Jesus’, walked to the altar and grabbed the crucifix. The (church) employee grabbed it and he dragged her across the parking lot. She eventually loses her grip and he drives away.”

The Country Inn Motel is about a 480-mile drive north from Pensacola.

It is not clear why the cross was taken to Tennessee. However, the van had Ohio license plates and investigators suspect the man may have been headed back to that state, officials said.

The suspect is wanted in Pensacola on a robbery charge and is being held in Sumner County as a fugitive from justice, officials said. The cross is being held as evidence.