Police seek cemetery vandals

Vandals toppled dozens of tombstones — many over 100 years old — this week at Findlay's Maple Grove Cemetery. "It's a lot of the old ones, and that's really sad," city of Findlay Public Works Superintendent Matt Stoffel said Wednesday morning, noting that the century-old tombstones are too old to be duplicated. Further, he said that while the cemetery does keep records of those buried there, some gravesites are simply too old to know if any family is left in the area to contact. "It bothers us pretty bad. Not only me, but my people here." According to the Findlay Police Department, the vandalism occurred overnight from Monday into Tuesday. Thirty tombstones were either toppled or damaged, all in the northeast section of the cemetery. Stoffel said the 100-acre cemetery is locked every night before dark — about 8 p.m. in the summer months — after an employee drives through the facility to make sure all visitors have left. He said he has spoken with the employee who locked up on Monday, who reported nothing out of the ordinary that evening. Stoffel added that the cemetery was mowed Monday night, and the damage was discovered Tuesday morning. He estimates that some of the stones disturbed weigh 400 to 500 pounds, suggesting that several people were likely involved in the vandalism. While some of the stones are too broken to fix, Stoffel said his team will work to repair as many as possible. For those broken into two, three or more pieces, the crew will reach out to local businesses who may be able to offer tips for their repair. While Stoffel said the cemetery has experienced vandalism in the past, he has never seen it to this extent. Crews do, however, have some experience repairing tombstones. Over the years, they have attempted to fix old, leaning stones by laying new foundation. "A little bit at a time, we work on that each year," Stoffel said. The police department continues to investigate the incident, and anyone with information about who may be involved is asked to call the department at 419-424-7150 or Hancock County Crime Stoppers at 419-425-8477. Callers may be eligible for a reward. In the meantime, Stoffel said city crews will do their best to right this wrong. "We'll try to put the pieces back together the best we can," he said. Griteman: 419-427-8477