CAMDEN, S.C. — Flowers fill hundreds of vases at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Camden, but for at least 40 gravesites, either vases or loved ones' nameplates have been stolen.
“If you've got family members out there if you haven't checked recently you may want to check to see if it’s still out there,” says Lee Boan, Kershaw County Sheriff.
Sheriff Boan says the cemetery estimates close to $25,000 dollars worth of items were stolen.
"It's the first time we've been hit this bad," he adds.
He believes the thieves are making money off of the items.
“It’s pretty obvious that nobody has a need for a nameplate for someone else’s name and someone else's birth and the year they passed. That, not something that's going to benefit anybody so it’s got to be the materials itself they are trying to take somewhere and trade to get a little money for,” he adds.
Although no arrests have been made yet, he says they are, pursuing leads.
“The few leads we have to start with, our guys are still running on them and we think there might be some connections to North Carolina," he adds.
It’s left him frustrated someone would target a place where a loved one’s cant protect their belongings.
“This is a target-rich environment, you go somewhere where there is nobody that's alive to protect their property, then these kinda people pray on that,” Boan adds.
If you have any information, that can help please contact Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.