ST. CLOUD — A baby Jesus statue has been missing from a nativity scene in downtown St. Cloud for a year.

The manger is currently filled by a swaddled toy doll. The statue was stolen last December. The Stearns County History Museum has owned the nativity scene since 1978 and has had it on display near U.S. Bank during the holidays since 1988.

“We never did recover the original baby Jesus,” museum executive director Carie Essig said.

The museum is looking for a more permanent replacement for the temporary baby Jesus. Local schools raised money to buy the nativity in 1944 and donated it to the city of St. Cloud.

The museum will either replace the figure with a similar piece from the era or will have something new cast, Essig said.