Overview

• The Guardia Civil led Operación Sebaste Vindicta between August 26 and September 3 with support from National Police in Talavera de la Reina and the Cebolla local force.
• Four men were detained and a fifth person remains under investigation on suspicion of robbery with force, receiving stolen goods and crimes against historical heritage.
• The theft occurred on December 7, 2023, when intruders exploited the hermitage’s isolation at night and removed the heavy bell dated 1806.
• The suspects allegedly offered the bell to a Talavera scrapyard, the buyer was identified, yet the piece has not been recovered and is believed to have been melted soon after.
• The operation followed damage to the site’s original 16th‑century doors, and the hermitage is cataloged by the regional government as a protected patrimonial asset and the last standing structure of the former village of La Mañosa.