(Lewis, Iowa) -- Three people are under arrest accused of stealing an historic church bell in a small western Iowa town.
Congregation members of the United Congressional Methodist Church in Lewis, Iowa noticed their bell missing on March 19th. The church says the bell is between 100 and 150 years old. The Cass County Sheriff's Office has arrested Trenton Baier of Lewis, and Shialea Cozad and Phillip Duncan, both of Omaha, Nebraska in connection with the theft.
All three are facing second-degree theft charges, and both Cozad and Duncan are also charged with drug possession. Investigators say they believe the suspects destroyed the historic bell and sold it for scrap metal.
The person who provided tips leading to the three arrests declined to accept the $5,000 reward the church had raised for those with information on the missing bell, and now the church will decide whether or not to use that money to replace the historic bell.