Raleigh, N.C. — A cemetery should be a sacred place, somewhere people go to remember and to grieve. It is not a place you expect to discover larceny.
Thieves did steal 10 metal headstones and 100 metal vases from a North Raleigh cemetery, however, and police are urging cemeteries to be on the lookout for thieves.
Connie Warren visits her parents' Raleigh grave site as often as she can, changing the flower arrangement to match the season.
“It's my parents' memorial. Its all I have left of them,” Warren said Monday.
Thieves have stolen Warren's artificial flowers twice, but it seems like now they have their eyes on bigger targets.
Ten metal headstones and 100 vases were taken from a North Raleigh cemetery in the past week. Those have a retail value of $15,000.
“The motive is the value of the metal itself,” said Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue.
Most of the stolen items are bronze, and police suspect the thieves will try to sell them to metal recyclers.
“We're doing everything we can to get the word out so that if any of this material turns up, we might get a suspect lead,” Sughrue said.
The real loss for families is not the value of the item, however. It’s the desecration of a very sacred place.
“This means a lot to me. I would be bereft, I would just sit down and cry if somebody stole it. It's bad enough when they steal your flowers,” Warren said.
Related Items
Video
![[search]](http://wwwcache.wral.com/presentation/v1/images/icons/16x12/search-form-icon.gif)
Site Search
Thieves' Plundering of Cemetery Monuments Hurts Survivors
- Reporter: Amanda Lamb
- Photographer: Greg Clark
- Web Editor: Ron Gallagher
Copyright 2008 by WRAL.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News Alerts to your Email & Cell Phone10 Comments
-
- Tropical storm warning issued for all of N.C. coast
Updated 10 minutes ago - Hanna to blow through Triangle Saturday
Updated Sep. 4 11:38 p.m. |
- Ex-teacher who faces sex charges is arrested again
Updated Sep. 4 10:11 p.m. | - Attorney general warns of scams, price gouging
Updated Sep. 4 10:03 p.m. | - No public events for Edwards until after election
Updated Sep. 4 6:42 p.m.
- Tropical storm warning issued for all of N.C. coast
- Most Viewed Slideshows
- Images from Republican National Convention
Updated Sep. 4 11:36 p.m. - Images of Sarah Palin & her family
Posted Sep. 4 5:56 a.m. - Pet Photos | September 1 - September 7, 2008
Updated Sep. 4 4:03 p.m.
- Images from Republican National Convention
STORIES
VIDEOS
SLIDESHOWS
IMAGES
BLOG POSTSAsk Anything
-
10 questions with Crime Reporter Amanda LambWRAL Crime Reporter Amanda Lamb answers your questions about crime scenes, murder cases and much more.
-
10 questions with Wake school board memberEleanor Goettee answers your questions about teacher pay, year-round schools ...
-
10 questions with Cary EMS Chief Steve CohenSteve Cohen answers your questions about saving lives and what to do in emergency situations.
hot topics
(1 votes) hanna to blow through triangle saturday
(1 votes) drilling for oil a hot topic at gop
Multimedia
-
Tracking HannaMeteorologists have been tracking Hanna, which has been a tropical storm and a hurricane.
-
Gustav: The path of destructionView Hurricane Gustav's path of destruction.
-
Gustav-Katrina ComparisonSee a timeline comparing the two hurricanes.
-
N.C. Drought Maps Time Lapse AnimationView a time lapse animation of drought conditions since April of 2007.
-
Raleigh Convention Center InteractiveThe Grand Opening of the new Raleigh Convention Center is Sept. 5 and 6.
Welcome to GOLO, where WRAL.com visitors can comment on stories and create profile pages, blogs and photo galleries.
You must be a registered WRAL.com user to use these tools. Click here to register or log in.