CAMDENTON, Mo. (KY3) – A deer crashed through a window and into a toddler room at First Baptist Church of Camdenton on Saturday, leaving the room damaged and unavailable for children until repairs are finished.
Church secretary Mary Resz was at the front desk when a co-worker told her about the deer.
Discovery in the toddler room
“She came and got me in the office and said, ‘Mary, there is a deer in the toddler room,’” Resz said. “I thought it was a joke. It’s Halloween. I thought it was some kind of a prank. So I said, ‘Really?’ ‘No, it’s real. It’s a deer. A real deer with antlers.’”
Resz said she saw blood before she entered the room.
“There was blood up the walls,” Resz said. “It had skipped and slid, and he couldn’t get his footing on the flooring, so he skipped and slid for a long time, and splashing was on everything. What a Halloween scene, right?”
Nathan Gustafson, Chairman of the Deacons for the church, said no children were inside the room when the deer came in.
“Crazy to think about, it could have been my daughter in there,” Gustafson said.
Repairs and cleanup
Resz and Gustafson said repairs must be completed before children can return to the room. The two windows in the room need to be replaced.
Resz said the room will not be ready for children for a while. She said the church will have to replace many of the books and soft furnishings.
“Everything else is being sterilized, and we’re bringing in extra equipment to check the walls,” Resz said. “And they’ve had to pull off the baseboard. They’re going to have to pull up the floor. This is a floating floor, so blood that seeped under is trapped. So this is all going to be demolished even more than it is.”
Gustafson said the church welcomes visitors.
“You know, we do like visitors of the two-legged variety,” Gustafson said. “You’re just welcome to use the front door.”
Gustafson and Resz said they are not sure what caused the deer to crash through the window. They said they are glad no one was hurt.
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