More than $200,000 worth of supplies for new building stolen from Fort Worth church

CBS News

18 hours ago

A Fort Worth church is reeling after thieves stole an entire brand-new building from their property – a structure worth more than $200,000 before it was even assembled. Now, the congregation is asking for the community's help.
When Pastor Brian Fisher arrived at Longvue Baptist Church's newest property in west Fort Worth the morning of Saturday, Aug. 9, he immediately knew something was wrong.
"It was a gut punch. I can't think of anything else. It just takes the wind out of you," said Fisher.
Several cut locks and chains remained, but every piece of the church's new metal auditorium and family life center, once laid out across the grass, was gone.
"I just put my hands up. Oh, no. What do we do? I mean, what happened?" Fisher said.
For the past year, the materials had sat locked behind a chain on Old Weatherford Road near Rolling Hills, waiting for permits and utility work to be approved by the city of Fort Worth.
The plan was to begin construction soon and open their doors to serve more members of the community after two years of fundraising to purchase the supplies.
"We've had families that have sacrificed so they could give toward it. It's heartbreaking," said Fisher.
He never thought anyone would be able to steal it.
"The material was brought in on three 18-wheelers... I mean, we're talking 160,000 pounds in all," he said.
This isn't the first time the church has been targeted. Last December, Fisher said a $12,000 trailer was stolen from the same site and never recovered.
Today, several trailers still sit on the property, and insulation materials have been rummaged through.
"You can see, there's one last roll that was left here," said Fisher.
He filed a police report with Fort Worth police and said there has been no update yet on the investigation.
He believes the theft happened within the last several weeks.
With no working security cameras on site, Fisher is now offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the stolen materials, hoping someone saw or unknowingly bought the stolen property.
"If someone has seen something, something that may stand out, I would love to be able to get it back," he said.