Arrest made in theft of historic bell from North Dakota cemetery

Sargent County Sheriff Travis Paeper says Paul Vincent, 39, of Gwinner, is in the Richland County Jail in Wahpeton on a charge of possessing stolen property.

The bell was stolen from White Stone Cemetery northeast of Gwinner between last weekend and the Labor Day holiday. The theft was reported by the cemetery groundskeeper.

Paeper says the bell, which weighs about 600 pounds, had been cut into pieces. It was hauled to a Fargo salvage yard. The salvage company paid over a $1,000 for the chunks of yellow bronze. Paeper says the search is continuing for other suspects. The bell had been in a church from 1912 until it closed in 1969.

Vincent has an extensive criminal history in Sargent, Ransom and Griggs counties dating back to 2009.