36-year-old Christopher Longacre, of Garden City Mo., has been charged with felony theft and possession of a controlled substance. He has also been charged with a misdemeanor for resisting arrest. Deputies located parts of the historic bell while serving a warrant to Longacre on 09-20-23.
It had been reported stolen 09-11-23. The next day, investigators obtained and executed a search warrant for Longacre after getting information he was in possession of the bell. When they got to Longacre’s residence, he fled on foot. Investigators were unable to find any remnants of the bell that day.
Then on 09-20-23, during a traffic stop, Deputies arrested Longacre on a failure to appear warrant and found pieces of the historic bell during the probable cause search.
Investigators found Longacre had cut down parts of the bell. They have reason to believe he was trying to scrap the remnants of the bell and sell them.
It was part of a church in Gunn City dating back to 1882. The bell survived a fire in the 1920s that burned down the church when it was a log cabin. It was put back up in the church which is still standing today.
Mr. Longacre is held at the Cass County Jail on a $25,000 cash-only bond.
Disclaimer: Arrest records are public information. Any indication of an arrest does not mean the individual identified has been convicted of a crime. All persons arrested are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
