Norfolk OPP seek to return items stolen from local gravesites to rightful owners

Norfolk Ontario Provincial Police are looking to return hundreds of items stolen from local cemeteries to their rightful owners.

Officers say one man had stolen around 1,000 lbs worth of bronze fixtures and nameplates.

They say dozens of gravesites were robbed or vandalized over a period of several weeks, right across Norfolk County.

Other areas may have also been impacted, though police say it is hard to tell where many of the items came from.

A number of stolen items have now been recovered, with many found at a scrap yard after they were sold for cash.

Detectives arrested 36-year-old Douglas Stevens from Oxford County last week, following a theft from Waterford Greenwood Cemetery.

He is facing a number of charges, including indignity to a dead body, after investigators say they found an urn with human remains inside of his car.

READ MORE: Police lay charges against Norfolk County grave robber

“It was following an incident at the Waterford Greenwood Cemetery, where an officer was on patrol at that time in the cemetery,” said Andrew Gamble, the community engagement officer with Norfolk OPP. “They noticed an individual there with suspicious behaviour — that individual was later arrested in the Town of Waterford.”

“A search warrant was conducted on the vehicle that individual was driving at the time, and stolen items from cemeteries were found inside the vehicle, including an urn which contained cremated human remains,” said Gamble.

“It’s primarily bronze items, a mixture of fixtures, monuments and nameplates, but those identifiers have been removed and it shows that the individual who was arrested and charged went through great lengths to conceal what they were doing,” said Gamble.

Police say they are already working with families to return the stolen items to their rightful owners.

They ask anyone who believes a loved one’s gravesite has been targeted, to contact police and to provide a description of the item and the cemetery it was taken from.

READ MORE: OPP asks residents to identify recovered items stolen from Norfolk County gravesites