It’s a theft that stopped Marley Daviduk in her tracks, arriving at her grandparents’ gravesite on Mothers Day to find a large hole in their memorial plaque.
“To steal something like this and to find out on Mother’s day,” Daviduk told CHEK News on Friday.
The copper vase that was bolted to her hardworking grandparents, Patrick & Jean Elford’s, gravesite was stolen, and they were one of many families who detected theirs were gone too at Cedar Valley Memorial Gardens, south of Nanaimo.
“Oh, it’s so violating,” she said. “I want to know who did this, and I want to know what scrap metal businesses are accepting what’s clearly cemetery property.”
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In a statement to CHEK News, the company that owns Cedar Valley, Arbor Memorial, wrote:
“Our thoughts are with the families impacted by this senseless act. We can confirm that approximately 15 bronze vases were taken from our cemetery last week and we are working closely with the authorities.”
The vases are valued at $1,000 each, and families are now being told they have to replace them at their own pocket, though Cedar Valley is offering them for sale at their cost of $300 each.
“So it’s not cheap. A lot of people aren’t going to be able to afford this,” said Daviduk, a Nanaimo-area resident.
According to RCMP, Nanaimo-area scrap metal dealers have all been notified of the thefts, in hopes that the vases could still be recovered. In the meantime, Daviduk and families across this region deal with a heartless theft right from their loved ones gravesites.
A photo of the one of the stolen vases is shown. (Submitted)
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Skye Ryan
