EUREKA, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Virginia Underwood walks the Eureka City Cemetery just about every day. Her husband was buried there back in March.
Occasionally, she and other family members will leave mementos – trinkets really – at his grave. It is something of a tradition at the Eureka Cemetery. Along with flowers, families leave items that have a connection to their loved one. Items that have been left include toys, small statues, even a hunter’s orange cap. Virginia’s grandson, Tyson Davis explained, “These are things that would mean nothing to anyone but our family or my grandpa.”
But on a few of her visits, Virginia has been shocked to find the mementos missing. Davis said, “I can’t understand why someone would take something like that.” -- Something that has sentimental, but not monetary value.
The Underwood grave has not been the only one hit by the trinket thieves. Mayor Milt Hanks said while sporadic, the thefts having been going on for a year or more. He doubts they’re being done by anyone in Eureka, because in a small town where everyone knows everyone else, secrets such as this are almost impossible to keep.
Then again, the cemetery sits in an out-of-the-way spot off Highway 6 so it is an unlikely target for outsiders who are just passing through. “It’s a mystery,” said Mayor Hanks.
The Juab County Sheriff has stepped up patrols in the cemetery – especially at night when it is thought the thefts are occurring. But there is little else the small town can do. Even if it spent the money to add a gate to the main entrance and fencing around the cemetery, people could still find their way in.
Still, folks in Eureka are determined that this kind of petty larceny in their historic cemetery end. “I promise you if you keep doing it, we will catch you,” said Mayor Hanks. “And hopefully we catch you and not the relatives. We are one of those towns where the vigilante ethic is alive and well.”
