Hearse stolen with body inside from a church

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced on Wednesday evening that a casket with a corpse inside was taken as part of a car theft outside of a church in Pasadena, California. The sheriff’s department confirmed the body in the hearse was an adult female, but police have yet to identify her.

The car, a black Lincoln Navigator, was parked in front of Saint Anthony Greek Orthodox Church around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday. The driver, a local mortician, had two bodies in the back of the hearse. The plan was to drop off one of the caskets at the church and head to the next stop. However, when the mortician came back shortly after 8 p.m. the Navigator was gone.

Authorities said no arrests have been made in the case and they added that the motive behind the theft remains unclear, and they are uncertain whether the suspect realized there was a corpse in the back of the Navigator. The sheriff’s department has called on local agencies and the California Highway Patrol to assist in finding the body and the car.

Police request to return the corpse... on Twitter

In a tweet that has gone viral, the sheriff’s office pleaded for the suspect who stole the hearse to do the right thing and return the dead person’s body.

“Out of all the bad decisions you have made, at least make one good one & bring back the deceased person & casket inside the Navigator,” the sheriff’s office wrote.