INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Thieves stole from the dead.

A total of 246 bronze vases were taken from the New Crown Cemetery on the city’s southeast side.

Indianapolis police recovered a portion of the vases, giving hope on Friday afternoon to grieving families.

Cindy Rednour lost her son Brandon five years ago. Now, she has to grieve all over again. Her son’s vase was stolen from his grave. “It’s not OK. It’s not OK to just walk into a cemetery and take something that doesn’t belong to you. That where we grieve.”

A cemetery worker said vases cost about $1,200 each. They sit at the center of gravestones.

Rednour was relieved that some of the vases were retrieved. She’s hoping they found her son’s. “I feel like whoever done this gets the sentence that they deserve. Maybe people will know it’s not OK to just go around and take things off of the cemeteries and off of our loved ones.”

Rednour said it’s more than just a vase, it’s a physical place where she can communicate with her son.

Hattie Quarles and her daughter visited the cemetery Friday afternoon only to find out her husband’s vase was missing. She traveled all the way from Texas to visit. “It’s kind of a let down. You wonder how, how can people get in.”

The entire cemetery is fenced. There are “no trespassing” signs around the fence.

The cemetery operator planned to contact families of the vases they recovered on Monday. The management of New Crown Cemetery shared a statement with News 8.

“The theft of the vases is not the responsibility of the cemetery; however, families who have reported a missing vase will receive theirs back once recovery, identification, and verification are complete.”

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