don't_steal_the_baby_jesus god (no the other one) HAMILTON -- The scene was bitter sweet: Waist-high candy canes and blinky lights adorned a snowy front lawn, where two sorrowful-looking parents peered over a lovely manger. But in this case, the baby Jesus statue was gone --kidnapped from the front lawn of Tom and Candy Konczos who last night remained mystified as to why someone would swipe the religious ornament from their Daniels Street front lawn, and then demand cash to get it back. "Whoever did it must’ve really planned this out, you know like a bank robbery," Candy Konczos said last night while staring at the ransom note along with Kim, her 9-year-old daughter. "We’re the only ones on the street. We checked at all the other houses with a baby Jesus, but none of them were stolen," Candy Konczos said. "Only ours." Police yesterday confirmed that the kidnappers left a computer-generated type-written ransom note demanding $800 in "small" bills in exchange returning the plastic figurine which was apparently stolen from the nativity scene some time over night Wednesday. The ransom note read, in all capital letters: "TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: WE HAVE YOUR BABY JESUS. IF YOU EVER WANNA SEE YOUR BABY JESUS AGAIN, LEAVE 800 DOLLARS IN SMALL BILLS, NOT TRACEABLE, IN THE MAILBOX OF ... WE WILL CONTACT YOU LATER WITH FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS. YOURS TRULY." The note was signed by "Me, him and the other kid who was really scared and didn’t want to take your baby Jesus and the whole time all he did was say stuff like you’re going to hell, this isn’t right, stop." The value of the plastic Jesus is around $69, said Hamilton Township police Lt. Mike Kane, who has officers investigating the theft. Candy Konczos said the baby Jesus was wired "pretty good" onto the wooden manger, and even had a small electric light bulb inside which gave it that spiritual glow at night. For some reason, the bandits did not steal Joseph or Mary, or any other lawn ornaments -- including a Santa, sparkling candy canes, or a revolving light display. "We put our nativity scene out every year, and this year we had to cut down a little tree and moved it closer (to the road)" Candy said. "You know that pranksters are doing this," the mom chuckled, even though she called the theft serious. "My daughter doesn’t socialize much with many kids around here, and we know our neighbors. We’re even in town watch," she added. "I guess we’re not doing a good job, huh?" Meanwhile, Lt. Kane said the "kidnapping" appeared to be juvenile in nature even though he had no immediate suspects. "It does smack of kids playing a prank," said Kane, noting police have had similar baby Jesus thefts in the past. But the ransom note is "kind of unsettling," Kane said. The Konczos said they first noticed the theft early yesterday when the mom left the home to drive daughter Kim to school. "I said, Look someone stole baby Jesus," the mom said. "It wasn’t until later that my husband called me at work and said he found a ransom note in the manger." "I called up the police and said, ‘You know, this may sound trivial, but someone stole our baby Jesus,’" said Candy. "The police said that nothing is trivial, and they were glad we called," she added. Kane said police will canvas the neighborhood in search ofinformation but are hoping the pranksters do the right thing. In similar cases in the past, the baby Jesus miraculously has turned up back in the manger several days later after publicity in the media. "The only thing we can hope is the kids will give us a call," said Kane. Coincidentally, one neighbor who lives nearby said she doesn’t leave ornaments on her lawn anymore from fear the items could be stolen. "Someone stole my ducks last spring," she said. "They tried to take a tree once, but it was tied down." In the meantime, Candy Konczos said she hopes to wake up today or tomorrow and find that the kidnappers suddenly had pangs of Christmas kindness, and decided to return the small plastic doll. "I’d like to look out my window in the morning and see the baby there and think, "Wow, I dreamed this whole thing."" said Candy. "But if we don’t get back the baby, we might just have to go out and buy another little doll." Kim, the daughter, said the stolen baby Jesus was about six years old and had been purchased at Sears. Other baby Jesus dolls have been disappearing for years from front lawns. 030217 ... dries&hardens I think maybe I'll try that next Christmas. 051226 ... misstree there was a swordfighting party... a group of youngers were driving two and a half hours down from chicago... they decided to bring provisions... they showed up with three bags of white castles and a trunk full of baby jesii... a few marys, a lamb that later on spontaenously decapitated (no lie; we hadn't gotten around to damaging it yet, and in fact it was being cradled quite tenderly)... bondage jesus learned to float... hammer wielding techniques were practiced... there were jesii enough for everyone... it was a very merry christmas. rambles. 051227 ... pSyche My history teacher, when he was in high school, and his friends, took paintball guns and shot up the baby Jesus and Mary statue outside of a church. He says he is going to become a missionary next year. 060311 what's it to you? who go blather from