Antique Bibles Stolen From Elderly Woman Attending Church

An elderly churchgoer quickly regained cherished family heirloom bibles after officers identified a suspect using surveillance footage.

By Angela Woodall, Patch Staff

Jul 21, 2026 2:19 pm PDT | Updated Jul 21, 2026 2:21 pm PDT

A woman's cherished bibles were stolen outside a Sebastopol church, whose pastor gave police surveillance footage used to arrest a suspect. (Sebastopol Police Department)

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A churchgoer was reunited today with several keepsake bibles hours after they were stolen from a Sebastopol church, leading to the arrest of a local woman.

Officers responded at about 10 a.m. to a report that an elderly woman's tote bag had been stolen while she attended services at Sebastopol Christian Church on Bodega Avenue, according to the Sebastopol Police Department.

Inside the bag were several bibles from Japan that the victim told officers were antique and held "tremendous" sentimental value, police said.

The church's pastor provided officers with closed-circuit surveillance footage to help identify the suspect.

Sebastopol Police Chief Ron McDonagh located and arrested Rebecca Smoak, 42, of Sebastopol.

Police said McDonagh found the stolen property inside Smoak's vehicle, which was parked nearby. Officers recovered the victim's belongings, including the bibles.

Smoak was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of possessing stolen property, and her vehicle was towed.

Although the bibles had limited monetary value, police said they represented irreplaceable family keepsakes.

"While the antique bibles may not have represented a significant monetary value, their sentimental value to the victim was immeasurable," the department said in a social media post.

"Recovering property like this is incredibly important to us, and our officers will always do everything reasonably possible to identify those responsible and return these cherished belongings to their rightful owners."