Vandals ransack Baldwin Co. cemeteries

ROBERTSDALE, Alabama (WALA) - Families in Robertsdale are in shock after two cemeteries were ransacked by thieves.

Saturday, families visiting the Baldwin Memorial and Hale cemeteries made a heartbreaking discovery. The bronze vases on their loved one's graves had been stolen.

Karen Roberts said they visit their family members who are buried at Baldwin Memorial Cemetery often. When her sister went to change the flowers on their parent's grave on Saturday, she realized they had a problem. She said she saw the flowers that had been in the vase thrown to the side.

"She got to looking around and the whole place was holes and all the vases had been stolen," said Roberts.

The two cemeteries sit side by side along Highway 90. They were both hit, but Baldwin Memorial had the most damage.

From both cemeteries, bronze vases that are connected to headpieces in the ground were stolen. The vases are attached by a chain, but the thieves managed to cut through them.

Robert's sister-in-law's parents and grandparents graves were the only ones hit at Hale Cemetery. They were also the only headpieces with the bronze vases there.

Roberts said the thieves knew what they were doing and came in with a plan.

"You walk on this side where my sister's grandparents and parents are buried, and they took theirs and theirs was the only one on that side, so it kinda makes you think they have been here before," said Roberts.

The family suspects the thieves are selling the vases for scrap metal. Roberts said a woman with the company who maintains the cemetery estimated the retail value on all of the graves hit is around $14,000. Selling them as metal by the ounce, they are worth much less.

But to Roberts and her family, it's not the financial loss that bothers them most.

"It makes me sick, it makes my heart hurt, cause you know that was my mom and dad and then a lot of family members and my sister-in-law's, she loved her mom and dad," said Roberts.

She said families are always visiting the cemeteries, and now they will be reminded of this incident every time.

"Now they got a hole to stick the flowers in, just a gaping hole," said Roberts.

Roberts said each individual vase is priced at about $200. The cemetery keeper's are working to get the price down so the families will be able to replace them.

The family is asking that scrap metal and pawn shops be on the look out for these vases. They want to make sure these thieves don't cash in on their loss.