The Illinois Valley Historic Laurel Cemetery was hit hard with a burglary Saturday, Sept. 17. Thieves broke two windows to the chapel and stole the security cameras mounted on the outside of the building after allegedly driving around the locked cable entrance through a wooded area with a tombstone.
IVHLC board treasurer Sandy Upton, along with her husband Pat, met the Illinois Valley News at the cemetery Monday with sadness to show all the damage and reported the list of stolen items.
The missing items that really upset Upton were the deeds – old and new – that proved ownership to plats. “Those files were irreplaceable,” said Upton. “We are pretty much back to square one now. Who would be low enough to steal from a cemetery?”
“The cemetery has been here since 1862,” said Pat Upton.
Other notable missing items were a window air conditioner unit, cement mixer, riding lawn mower, gas push mower, leaf blower, weed eater, vacuum cleaner, hand tools (shovels, rakes, etc.), small refrigerator, heavy duty commercial hose, roll of carpet, rolled platt maps and internet cables.
Cemetery Board President Ed Webb was present and helping take a report of the damage and said that a Josephine County Sheriff’s Office report was filed.
Contact Detective Ryan Brand at 541-474-5123 with any information you may have about this break-in and theft that occurred Saturday, Sept. 17 and identify case No. 2209180022 and if you see any of the missing items you can call the cemetery at 541-592-5028.
If you would like to help the Historic Laurel Cemetery replace the stolen items you can make a check out to IVHLC and mail to P.O. Box # 424, Cave Junction, OR 97523 or call Sandy Upton at 541-287-7982.