W. Virginia school's Jesus portrait gone

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va., Aug. 21 (UPI) -- A portrait of Jesus has been stolen from the halls of a West Virginia high school as controversy swirls over its presence.

Police in Bridgeport, W.Va., said a surveillance video caught the male thief in action at 3:42 a.m. Thursday, WBOY-TV, Clarksburg, W.Va. reported Monday.

Investigators said the thief smashed a window at the back of the school, took the portrait and left the frame outside.

Since June, the Harrison County (W.Va.) Board of Education has faced two lawsuits by civil rights groups calling for the removal of the picture, which had been in the school for 37 years, the report said.