The Associated Press

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Police are looking for a man they believe stole more than $18,000 from a church's Sunday collections.

John William Lentry, 48, is wanted for allegedly stealing three services worth of collections from Holy Redeemer Church on April 6.

He also is believed to have committed a similar crime at another southwestern Indiana church about two weeks earlier, said Evansville Police Department Detective Larry Nelson.

Initial reports said Lentry allegedly stole about $18,000 from Holy Redeemer. But Nelson said Friday that the actual amount stolen was significantly higher.

"I'm not going to give an exact amount, (but) when they went through and figured it, it ended up being quite a bit more," he said.

Police obtained a warrant for Lentry's arrest after interviewing several people, including the priest who celebrated the April 6 services, Nelson said.

The priest told police he saw Lentry inside the school two or three days before the burglary inquiring about Sunday service times, Nelson said. Then, between services on April 6, the priest said he saw Lentry standing near the room where the money is kept.

When church officials later went into the room where the collections are kept, they found the money was missing.