Belleview, FL - A baby Jesus statue stolen from northwest Florida nativity scene is back at the church, 12 years after it was swiped.

Rev. Jack Gray, pastor at St. Anne's Catholic Church, says the statue and a note were discovered in a pew Thursday.

The letter, written by a person who identified themselves as "M," stated that a friend had stolen the statue years before and left it with "M" when he moved. "For a long time, I did not know what to do," the anonymous person wrote.

The writer said when hurricane damage forced the church to stop holding an annual festival and a holiday light display, "I knew it was time to bring Him home."