A man allegedly walked out of Bellevue United Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning with cash lifted from the church's donation collection, then disappeared on foot into the surrounding neighborhood. The theft, reported at the historic Lincoln Avenue sanctuary in Bellevue, Pennsylvania, has left Bellevue Borough Police searching for a suspect described only by his clothing, his approximate age, and a distinctive tattoo.
According to WTAE, officials said the man took money from the church's donations after a caller reported the theft. The Bellevue Borough Police Department logged the case under Reference ID 2026-04028, placing the reported incident at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Sunday at 457 Lincoln Avenue, according to the department's Bellevue Borough Police Department case listing — a timeframe that falls squarely within the church's typical Sunday morning worship hours.
Investigators describe the suspect as a white male in his 30s or 40s who wore black clothing and was last seen leaving the area on foot. Police say he can be identified by a calf tattoo displaying the word “Irish.” Officials are working to locate the man and have asked anyone with information to contact the department.
A Church With Deep Roots in Bellevue
The theft struck at an institution with a long history in the borough. Bellevue United Presbyterian Church was organized in February 1872 by 21 founding members, giving the congregation a 154-year presence in Allegheny County, according to the church's own account of its history and ministry, though the congregation traces its roots to a Sabbath School founded even earlier, in 1869.
The church's Beaver gray stone sanctuary on Lincoln Avenue was designed by architect J. Lewis Beatty and dedicated on November 1, 1901. Per Bona Fide Bellevue, the building features original stained-glass windows by the Willet Stained Glass Company and a pipe organ partly funded by Andrew Carnegie in 1903, and cost $29,999 to construct at the time.
More Than a Sunday Worship Site
Beyond weekly services, the church hosts a monthly Second Sunday Soup free community meal and serves as a regular meeting site for 12-step recovery programs including Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, the church notes. It also functions as the central registration and starting point for Bona Fide Bellevue's annual Live Worship Shop House Tour, a fundraiser for municipal projects that spotlights historic homes and public buildings across the borough.
That level of foot traffic and civic use underscores why the theft has drawn local attention beyond a typical property crime. Bellevue Borough, an inner-ring suburb along the Ohio River roughly six miles northwest of downtown Pittsburgh, spans about one square mile and is home to roughly 8,100 residents, per Livability. Crime data compiled for the borough shows violent crime running roughly 40% to 50% below the national average, meaning property crimes like this one tend to stand out in local police reports, according to prior Hoodline reporting.
Open Questions on Charges and the Suspect's Path
Police have not disclosed the exact dollar amount taken from the donation collection, a detail that will determine how any eventual charges are graded. Under Pennsylvania law, 18 Pa.C.S. § 3921, theft of property valued under $50 is a summary offense, theft between $50 and $200 is a second-degree misdemeanor, and theft between $200 and $2,000 is a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to five years in prison, according to Stephen Stewart Law.
The church sits on Lincoln Avenue, Bellevue's primary commercial corridor, which intersects major arterial routes including California Avenue and Ohio River Boulevard, or Route 65. Because the suspect fled on foot through that high-visibility stretch in the middle of a Sunday morning, investigators are likely to lean on nearby business surveillance footage or public tips to trace his path toward those larger transit routes. The Bellevue Borough Police Department, headquartered at 537 Bayne Avenue under Chief of Police Matthew R. Sentner and a force of three sergeants and 10 sworn patrol officers, is asking anyone with information on the case to come forward.
