St. Lawrence Seminary student in custody, fire investigation ongoing

FOND DU LAC CO. (WITI) -- A 15-year-old freshman at St. Lawrence Seminary High School has been taken into custody on charges of theft and burglary after missing cash from the seminary was found in his possession.

The money was discovered missing on March 13th while officials were investigating a March 8th fire. The fire destroyed one of the school’s buildings -- St. Joseph Hall.

During the investigation, the Milwaukee-area teen was found in possession of cash consistent with the amount discovered missing.

"Obviously, there's a connection that you might want to make. But right now, we don't have any connection between him and the fire," said Captain Rick Olig with the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Department.

That student was subsequently taken into custody and is being held at the Fond du Lac County Juvenile Detention Center on charges of theft and burglary.

The boy has not yet been charged with setting the fire, however, authorities say the cause of the fire is suspicious in nature and the investigation remains active and ongoing.

"There's a lot more to the story here and a lot more work our investigators have to do here. A lot more," said Olig.

Anyone with any information is urged to contact the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office.

"We're praying for the whole situation and everyone involved and hoping for a rapid resolution of it," said Father John Holly of St. Lawrence. "We're certainly hoping to rebuild. We need the space very badly."

An 850 pound stone statue of St. Joseph has been recovered from the fire. Experts say it's as old as the campus itself. Crews spent hours trying to remove it from the top of the building.

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