Brent Roberts has a hard time discussing the 13 stolen veteran grave markers at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Wellsville without getting heated.
“It gets my blood pressure going,” said Roberts, Commander of the Wellsville American Legion Post 702. “There are a lot of upset people with loved ones up there.”
The graves are believed to have been defaced on June 12. The Wellsville Police Department is looking into a financial motive for the thefts.
“It’s kind of a sick cash grab,” Wellsville Police Chief Timothy O’Grady said. “We have a few leads we’re looking into, but nothing concrete at the moment.”
The grave markers are made of bronze. Many stolen items contain metals such as bronze, copper and aluminum and are converted to valuable scrap metal.
Wellsville Police are checking local scrapyards for people attempting to sell grave markers. One scrapyard notified police about a recent collection of grave plaques being brought in, but they were not connected to the Sacred Heart thefts.
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The Allegany County Sheriff’s Office is not involved in the investigation, but did offer to assist if needed, according to Undersheriff Scott Cicirello. The sheriff’s office is monitoring the situation to make sure this was an isolated incident.
Sacred Heart is a Catholic cemetery that is owned by Immaculate Conception Church. The cemetery does not have security cameras on the premises, but increased security measures are being considered, according to Kate Rahr, business manager of Immaculate Conception and Sacred Heart.
“It was totally unexpected,” Rahr said. “We’ve never really had anything happen like this before.”
Rahr notes that the plaques are hard to remove, and the offender would have used a heat gun or something similar to remove the adhesive holding them in place. Roberts’ believes – after speaking with a plaque-maker about the difficulty of removing them – that the theft was likely done by more than one person.
The Allegany County Veteran’s Agency placed orders for new grave markers that will be installed free of charge.
The American Legion is offering a reward for information leading to an arrest. It started at $2,000 and has grown to $13,000 through additional donations, including $2,000 from the Wellsville Elks Lodge.
“The response has been overwhelming,” Roberts said. “Everyday, I’m receiving pledges, $100 here, $500 there. The community’s come together like I thought they would.”