Local authorities are searching for four suspects who allegedly stole $15,000 in valuables from the Sri Maha Lakshmi Temple in south Forsyth on Thursday, May 16.

According to Forsyth County Sheriff's Office reports, at 8 p.m. on Thursday, six individuals – two males, two females, one teenage boy and a child – entered the temple and began talking to its priests.

The male suspects distracted the priests inside and outside the temple, talking to them about its history, while the female suspects walked around the building, allegedly stealing 10 gold chains off of different statues, according to the report.

"They had been in there before, they went straight to the statues and the gold," sheriff's office spokesman Cpl. Doug Rainwater said on Friday afternoon. 

A witness told deputies that when one priest outside the temple attempted to go back inside the building, one of the males physically blocked him from entering. 

"After the females grabbed the chains, the group left the building," the report states.

The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office is asking the public to call Detective B. O’Haire at 770-781-2222, Ext. 3321, if they have any information about this crime or if they recognize any of the individuals pictured below.