Families distressed after vases are stolen from Fresno cemetery graves

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Families visiting loved ones astatine Fresno Memorial Gardens Cemetery implicit the play were met with a achy discovery: dozens of angiosperm vases had been stolen from gravesites, leaving galore feeling disheartened and devastated.

"This is their memorial, their honor, and it's a disrespect to bash thing similar this," said Diane Carlos, cemetery visitor.

Gravestone aft gravestone stood bare, each marking a beingness and a story, present without the flowers that erstwhile adorned them. The stolen vases were taken from aggregate plots, including those successful the Garden of Valor, wherever veterans, including immoderate who served successful World War II, are buried alongside household members.

"It's not the wealth that counts. It's our hearts, our feelings, due to the fact that we person to grant them due to the fact that they're doing a occupation for us," said Roselinda Contreras, cemetery visitor.

Some gravestones carnivore inscriptions specified arsenic "beloved son, brother, & father," underscoring the idiosyncratic nonaccomplishment families accidental has been compounded by the theft. The incidental comes arsenic cemetery crews were preparing for Memorial Day by placing American flags crossed the grounds, a infinitesimal that heightened emotions among visitors.

"Very touching," Contreras said, adding, "It brings backmost hard memories, precise hard."

Contreras and her sister, Diane, said the concern resonates profoundly with them, arsenic their 5 brothers served successful the military.

"People request to person a small spot much respect for our subject people," Contreras said.

The stolen vases are often made of bronze oregon brass materials that tin beryllium sold for scrap. Cemetery officials and families accidental specified thefts person go much communal arsenic metallic prices rise, with thieves targeting items they tin rapidly resell. In response, immoderate families person begun replacing metallic vases with integrative ones successful hopes of deterring aboriginal theft.

The occupation is not constricted to Fresno Memorial Gardens. At Ararat Armenian Cemetery, officials accidental they person accrued information measures pursuing akin incidents, including thefts and adjacent arson. The cemetery has added much lighting, nighttime patrols, and surveillance cameras.

"The headstone takes connected a batch of meaning due to the fact that it is that past small tribute to idiosyncratic you love, truthful being capable to travel and lavation the headstone to bare the vases and enactment caller fresh flowers. It's each an enactment of work to idiosyncratic who means truthful overmuch to you, truthful it is simply a immense violation," said Sheri Manning-Cartwright, Executive Director of Ararat Armenian Cemetery.

Manning-Cartwright said vase thefts stay an ongoing situation contempt efforts to deter thieves, specified arsenic engraving names onto vases and offering alternate designs.

"There's truly nary point, there's nary point, you're not going to marque immoderate money. You're conscionable going to upset someone, and you're going to upset idiosyncratic who already is fragile. And it's conscionable pointless," she said.

For galore families, the thefts correspond much than the nonaccomplishment of property; they are seen arsenic a usurpation of ineffable spaces meant to grant loved ones.

The Fresno Memorial Gardens tells Action News that erstwhile they go alert of a missing vase, they statesman moving with section instrumentality enforcement and are encouraging families who judge their spot was stolen to interaction them directly.

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