Stealing from the dead

A recent outbreak of thefts at an Ocean Springs cemetery has representatives from Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Home asking the public for assistance in solving the crime.
Recently, the management at Crestlawn Memorial Park in Ocean Springs have been dealing with a string of burglaries at many of the gravesites on their property. The culprit behind it all has an unusual target: the brass flower vases attached to headstones have been removed from graves in concentrated areas of the cemetery. Jeff O’Keefe with Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Home said, “At times we have had problems with one or two missing, but recently in the past week or so it’s been a larger bulk amount. I think we’re up to close to twenty that have been stolen.”
Staff members know that these disappearances aren’t just coincidences because each time a vase is removed the flowers are then placed directly in the hole that it once filled. “I think it’s just a misconception of value and the material that they are made out of. They are very durable over the ages and everything, but they’re not meant as a precious metal such as a gold or bronze, copper, anything of that nature,” said O’Keefe.
It’s likely that the thief does most of their work under the cover of night, sticking to the graves near the back edge of the cemetery to avoid detection, but preventative measures are being taken. “We’ve notified the police department as well as local junkyards or salvage yards. Hopefully, they’ll keep an eye out, but also the public as well. We’ve since installed a surveillance system so I would like it to be known that we’re not going to allow this kind of act to continue going,” said O’Keefe.
Anyone with information regarding these thefts is urged to contact Ocean Springs Police Department.