Families find flowers are missing from gravesites

Jason E. Silvers/Tribune photo The gravestones of relatives of local resident Rita Emmerson, which are normally decorated with flower arrangements, are without flowers in this photo taken Tuesday. Emmerson, whose loved ones are interred at Memory Gardens, said she is becoming concerned the flowers are being stolen.

Margaret Humphrey and Rita Emmerson, like many people, put flowers on the graves of lost loved ones in a show of respect and remembrance.

And they're typically used to the flowers remaining on the graves unless they're replaced at some point.

The two local women are starting to become concerned as the artificial flower arrangements they have placed on gravestones at two local cemeteries have been coming up missing. They're not sure what's happening with the flowers but it's starting to become a regular occurrence. And, they said it appears to be happening at other gravesites and cemeteries as well.

Jason E. Silvers/Tribune photo Flower arrangements are missing from the grave sites of relatives of local resident Margaret Humphrey, who said she is becoming concerned the flowers are being stolen and possibly resold. Her loved ones are interred at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery.

Humphrey and Emmerson said it has happened more than once at cemeteries where they each have loved ones interred -- St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery and Memory Gardens. Emmerson said after she posted about the missing flowers on social media, she learned from other people the same thing was happening at other cemeteries.

Humphrey said within the last two weeks, she has replaced several flower arrangements on the gravestones of various relatives buried at St. Mary's Cemetery.

"In May, all the flowers were gone," Humphrey said. "We put more, now they're gone again. I know other flowers have been taken. This week, some of them are gone. We have been replacing the flowers."

Humphrey said the flowers are "in concrete urns, so they're not just laying there." Her parents, brother and other family members are buried there.

"I had flowers in rocks so they wouldn't blow out," she said. "All the relatives' flowers were missing."

She said cost to replace the flowers can "easily be $50 to $60."

"I guess around Memorial Day it would be closer to $70 or $80," she said. "We're replacing them again."

Emmerson said she has several relatives interred at Memory Gardens.

"This is the second time it's happened to me," she said. "I put out arrangements for seasonal things, fall bouquets."

Emmerson said when she recently saw the bouquets were gone, she thought maybe the area had just been mowed.

"But there was no evidence of petals, like it was just mowed, where they mow around the edges," she said. "It was vandalism."

Other than the missing flowers, Emmerson said she saw nothing else missing and no damages to the gravestones.

Humphrey said when the incidents started occurring, she contacted the Fort Scott Police Department and spoke with an officer, who contacted the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office. She said she talked about what was happening with a sheriff deputy, who asked if she wanted to press charges.

"I didn't know how I could do that since I didn't know who was doing it," Humphrey said.

Emmerson said she has not contacted local law enforcement about the flowers.

"I didn't want to waste their time," she said. "I didn't think there was anything they could do."

Emmerson said the whole situation "is kind of discouraging."

"I was raised to do the respectful thing for your loved ones," she said. "It happened last year about the same time."

Bourbon County Sheriff Bill Martin said Tuesday he has not seen official reports filed in recent weeks on alleged cemetery theft, nor has he had a report from a deputy on the issue. Martin said there are sometimes what he called "dark figure crimes," that are never reported to law enforcement," who only learn about these types of crimes through the results of surveys and research that are conducted.

"I'm not saying it's not happening, it's just not being reported to us," he said. "Some people don't want to report because they don't want to get involved."

Martin said the only recourse his department has to respond to reported incidents of certain alleged crimes is to patrol reported areas more often.

"I pass it on to deputies and have them patrol the area more if they have spare time," he said. "And see what types of movement and activity is taking place, and if there are suspicious people around cemeteries at a strange time of night or early morning."

Martin said he has taken reports of "gas being stolen from rural communities." He said he has talked to some rural residents who have talked with him about missing fuel.

"People have asked about patrolling the area more often," he said. "There are some crimes, some low-level crimes that are committed, that go unreported to law enforcement in both the county and city."

Humphrey said she checks on the St. Mary's cemetery during the day, when she thinks the theft is occurring. She said a gate at the entrance to the cemetery is locked at night. She said the caretakers clean and maintain the cemetery but the flowers are "never removed."

She said she is certain that what's happening is theft.

"I've been taking flowers out there for 20 years and they've never removed them. They never disappear," she said.