Not even the sanctity of a house of worship could keep a thief from doing the devil's work.

A Mead, Wash., man told Coeur d'Alene police on Sunday that his wife discovered her wallet missing from her purse, and believed she may have lost it while at a church function in the Spokane Valley Saturday night.

When they didn't find it at the church the next day, they reported the theft to police and called to cancel the credit cards that were inside the wallet.

Too late.

Someone had already used the gas card twice in Coeur d'Alene, first for $108.90 at 2:16 a.m. Sunday, and again for $41.79 at 3:49 a.m.

The thief tried to use the victim's JC Penney card to purchase $1,000 in gift certificates, but the charge was denied, according to the police report.

The victim said the wallet "would have had to have been taken by someone at the church."

An investigation continues.