NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — So far, 27 bronze grave markers honoring military veterans have been stolen from two Hopkinsville, Kentucky, cemeteries in the past week, and police are asking the public for help finding them.
The markers have gone missing from Cave Springs Cemetery and Riverside Cemetery.
Blane Ezell with Hopkinsville Public Works said grounds crews first noticed the theft during routine maintenance last week.
"We mow every week. But we were out, and the guys noticed that we were missing some military markers," said Blane Ezell, City of Hopkinsville Public Works Department’s grounds maintenance superintendent.
Crews walked nearly 12 miles around the grounds trying to get a count of how many have gone missing.
Officials are urging anyone with a loved one buried at either of those cemeteries who has a bronze veteran marker to come and check if it is still there.
The markers — each measuring 2 feet by 1 foot — are made of bronze and include veterans' names, service branch, rank, and era of service.
Many were anchored in blocks of granite, making their removal a difficult effort.
Police said their investigators are contacting local scrap yards as part of the probe, and the public is being asked to report anything suspicious to help the investigation.
"Working with the scrap yards is going to be part of that and then doing something like this [interview] and getting the message out to the public, that's going to be another part of that," said Sgt. Luckingham with the Hopkinsville Police Department Investigations Unit.
Ezell also expressed concern that whoever took the markers may discard them if they are unable to sell them.
According to Ezell, just the notion that someone would steal these markers from veterans is pretty sad.
"I don't know what goes through people's mind naturally, but for someone to have this thought, I mean, that's saddening," Ezell said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Hopkinsville Public Works at 270-890-0600, or the Hopkinsville Police Department at 270-890-1300.
This story was reported on-air by journalist Robb Coles and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
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