Steven Slater, a custodian at St. Columban Catholic Church in Yelm, was extremely discouraged when he arrived at the church last week and noticed that a utility wagon had been stolen. The wagon, which belonged to the church, was used for outdoor work like cleaning up brush and trash outside of the church.

Slater immediately noticed the wagon was missing when he arrived at the church and after a quick scan of the property he realized it was missing. Slater then called the police department and filed a stolen property report. The thief had to go through several locked gates to get to the wagon.

Prior to speaking with the Nisqually Valley News, Slater located the cart dumped in the bushes. Surprisingly, Slater didn’t have to go far to find the cart, as he found it near the church.

“It’s frustrating we have to face these things in Yelm,” said Slater. “I just want to bring awareness to the people here in Yelm that yes, these crimes do happen.”

Slater also said this isn’t the first time that St. Columban has faced theft.

“We’ve had to deal with vandalism, thievery, and a couple of years ago we had a statue that had its head broken off and shattered in the yard,” said Slater.