An East Tennessee church is trying to figure out how it will stay cool after a thief allegedly stole its air conditioning units.
Roger's Creek Baptist Church, in Athens, first noticed something was amiss, on Wednesday.
"We began to investigate, check the [air conditioning] units to see if they were running properly," said Church Pianist Donna Hixson. "My husband decided to go outside and take a look and they were missing."
The church's three air conditioning units were gone. According to Hixson, it will take $8,000 to replace them. However, she hopes insurance money will cover most of those costs.
"I suppose they had to load them on a truck and move them out," she said.
Roger's Creek Baptist Church currently has no device to provide it cool air before the summer heats up. For now, the church is just opening its sanctuary windows.
Family Worship Center Reverend Thomas Climer, of Athens, called Roger's Creek Baptist Church Reverend Jeff Myers when he heard what happened. Climer said a similar incident occurred in his church just three weeks ago.
The Family Worship Center has since replaced the air conditioning units. Climer said he believed whoever stole units knew what they were doing.
"They had to wobble, twist on the unit just to get the copper to break in half," he said. "That's what they did."
Climer said his church has since bought surveillance cameras to monitor any activity on their premises.
In the meantime, Myers said his church will keeps its faith despite the confusing nature of this case.
"It's hard to understand why anyone would want to steal, or anyone would want to do something like that," he said.
10News contacted the McMinn County Sheriff's Office about the case, but it was unavailable for comment.