How Thieves Once Stole A 3,000-Pound Bell

When the bell was first stolen, Thich Phuoc Toan told The Associated Press that he was not very hopeful it would be found. Fortunately, he was proven wrong a year later. The recovery began when a man purchased a storage unit in Puyallup, Washington, The Associated Press reported further. A second man named Robert L. Hunter approached him and said the unit’s contents all belonged to him, and he would pay him more than $500 for them. The man refused and instead informed a Department of Fish and Wildlife officer on November 20, 2006. The bell was recovered from the storage unit and returned to the temple. 

Eventually, Hunter was arrested, and even more stolen items were recovered from his property, including six cars, two tow trucks, a tractor, and some guns. The bell itself was returned undamaged, but the wooden frame containing it was and had to be repaired before the bell could be used in ceremonies again, Toan told The News Tribune.