Baby Jesus not leaving this manger

CHICAGO, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Volunteers are bolting down the baby Jesus in the nativity scene in Chicago's Daley Plaza, to keep it from being stolen.

In 1999, a would-be Grinch stole the life-size baby figure and stashed it in a Union Station locker, where it was later found after an anonymous tip, The Chicago Tribune reported Sunday. A 19-year-old art student was the next one to try to make off with the baby Jesus, but he was caught a few blocks away.

So this year, the figure is secured by cable wrapped around its waist and bolted to the manger floor, the newspaper said.

The holy infant representation in Daley Plaza is not the only one to be targeted for pilfering, the Tribune reported. Such incidents are increasingly common.

Last year, for example, 32 baby Jesus figures stolen from Chicagoans' yards turned up on one woman's front lawn.