300-year-old Bible returned to family

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MARYSVILLE, Ohio, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- An Ohio man says a 300-year-old family Bible stolen in December 2011 was returned to him thanks to a website, a thrift store and the Fraternal Order of Police.

Tim Shier of Marysville, whose Bible, Ford F-350 pickup truck and gun safe were stolen in the 2011 incident, said the Bible was printed for his family in 1706 in Germany and included handwritten records of births and weddings, The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reported Tuesday.

"What made me sick to my stomach was that Bible," Shier said. "It's of no value or use to anyone but my family. I felt like I'd let everyone down."

Four men were eventually tried and convicted in the thefts, but the Bible was not located until a few weeks ago, when one of Shier's cousins found a notation about an old German Bible on ancestry.com.

Shier contacted the Union County Sheriff's Office, which discovered the Bible had been sold online by thrift store Goodwill to a Louisiana buyer, who then sold it to a couple in Georgia.

The Georgia couple refused to relinquish the Bible without a refund of the $405 they spent on the tome.

The money was donated by the Union County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 171 and the Bible was returned to Shier during a ceremony Saturday night.

Shier said and his family donated more than enough money to repay the FOP Saturday.

"Our family can't put a price on that Bible," he said. "History can never be replaced."