ALTON — Four people have been charged in the theft of a historic copper statue from an Alton church garden that police say was taken to Missouri and scrapped shortly after it disappeared Sept. 13, 2026.
The Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office announced felony charges Oct. 19, 2026, in the theft of the hammered copper statue of St. Francis of Assisi from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, also known as the Episcopal Parish of Alton. Police determined the artwork was scrapped for its copper and is likely unrecoverable.
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Created by artist Hillis Arnold, the 5-foot-tall statue had been on display since the 1970s and weighed several hundred pounds. It had been anchored with concrete and rebar following a previous theft attempt in the 1980s.
Latisha L. Conner, 35, and Justin A. Hogue, 35, both of Alton, and Sydney D. White, 30, of Staunton, each face one count of theft over $10,000, a Class 1 felony.
Timothy A. Rodgers, 41, of Alton, also faces a felony theft charge.
All four were released with conditions under Illinois’ SAFE-T Act because the offenses are non-detainable. Rodgers has a previous burglary conviction in Madison County.
