Portraits of breast cancer survivors stolen in West Chester package theft

Sensitive, powerful portraits of local breast cancer survivors were likely stolen in a West Chester Township package theft.

The portraits belong to The Grace Project, a nonprofit working to promote body positivity.

The women who run the organization travel around the country photographing people who have battled breast cancer. They say their goal is to create powerful images of 800 survivors.

“The mission is to empower them to embrace their post-cancer bodies and their beauties, to step into it, own it," Assistant Director of The Grace Project Joules Evans said.

Evans is a survivor herself. She explains they create silk portraits with the photos that they present nationwide.

“We do pop-up exhibits, body image talks, and then photo shoots along the way," Evans said.

As Evans was preparing for a local show with the University of Cincinnati’s Breast Cancer Center last week, she says she discovered something awful — a special delivery, with seven of the silk prints inside, had disappeared from her apartment complex.

“There were three packages taken that day, not just mine, but that one was a lot," Evans said.

The postal service verified, Evans said, that the package had been dropped off in her building, but by the time Evans got home that day, it was gone.

“Gut-wrenched and heartbroken, and I feel violated for the girls because I know they feel violated," Evans said.

On top of that, Evans said they are now out more than $10,000.

“We feel pretty hit because we’re a nonprofit," Evans said. "We’re a passion project, and each of the silks are worth $1,600.”

After reporting the theft to both West Chester Police and USPS, Evans said she also contacted her neighbors and even left a note about the theft on the front door of her building.

She is now pleading for whoever took them to bring them back.

“Please, please. We don’t need anything. We just would love back the prints," Evans said. "You can be anonymous. We’ll send out some love and good energy into the universe for you and thank you.”

If you have any information on where the photos might be, contact West Chester Police or the United States Postal Service.

Enquirer media partner Fox19 provided this report.